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THE   GREAT   CHARTER   OF   CHRIST 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER 
OF   CHRIST 

BEING  STUDIES  IN   THE  SERMON  ON 
THE  MOUNT 


BY   THE   RIGHT   REV. 

W.  BOYD   CARPENTER   D.D.   D.C.L. 

LORD   BISHOP  OF  RIPON 


NEW    YORK 

THOMAS    WHITTAKER 

2  &  8  BIBLE  HOUSE 

1896 


PROLOGUE 

thou  canst  not  fathom.  None  can  look  on  God's 
face  and  live.  We  know  in  part.  Happiness  is  not 
in  knowledge."  Then  there  was  silence  while  the 
young  man's  eyes  recovered.  And  then  said  the 
Prophet,  "  Look  once  more,  but  look  not  on  the 
heaven  but  on  the  earth."  And  the  young  man 
looked — and  was  glad  ;  for  meadow,  stream,  and  hill 
were  bathed  in  happy  sunlight.  And  the  Prophet 
said,  "  What  seest  thou  of  heaven  ? "  And  the 
youth  answered,  "  I  see  the  sunlight  everywhere." 

Then  said  the  Prophet,  li  Be  content.  Mind  not 
high  things.  -  Seek  not  to  know  mysteries.  But  seek 
goodness,  purity,  righteousness,  and  kindness,  and 
thou  shalt  see  God's  sunlight  everywhere  ;  and  thou 
shalt  find  happiness  within.  Herein  is  the  blessing 
of  the  Lord,  that  a  man  be  satisfied  in  righteous- 
ness." 

Then  the  youths  left  the  Prophet :  and,  as  they 
journeyed  to  their  city  again,  he  that  had  sought  to 
know  mysteries  said  :  "  I  remember  that  it  is  written, 
1  In  Thy  light  shall  we  see  light'  "  And  the  other, 
who  had  sought  happiness  in  pleasure,  made  answer  : 
"  I,  too,  remember  One  who  said,  '  I  am  the  Door. 
By  me  if  any  man  enter  in  he  shall  be  saved.'  " 

W.  B.  R. 


CONTENTS 


SOME   ELEMENTARY    PRINCIPLES    OF   THE   RELIGIOUS    LIFE 

THE   NEW   HEAVEN    FOR   MEN 

THE    ARGUMENT   OF   THE    SERMON 

THE    FIRST   STEP   TOWARDS    HAPPINESS 

EVERY    SEVERAL   GATE    WAS    OF    ONE    PEARL 

KNOWN    AND    UNKNOWN    INFLUENCE 

THE    INNER   IS   THE    HIGHER 

MARKETABLE   RELIGION 

THE   PRAYER   OF    PRAYERS      . 

WHAT   IS   PRECIOUS   IN   LIFE 

PROSTITUTED   ZEALOTISM       . 

TBI    TESTS   OF   LIFE       . 


1'AGE 
9 

29 

53 
75 
99 
131 
149 
185 
205 
231 
255 
277 


SOME   ELEMENTARY   PRINCIPLES   OF 
THE   RELIGIOUS   LIFE 


i  Cor.  xv.  46,  49 

Howbeit  that  was  not  first  which  is  spiritual,  but  that  which  is 
natural;  and  afterward  that  which  is  spiritual. 

As  we  have  borne  the  image  of  the  earthy,  we  shall  also  bear 
the  image  of  the  heavenly. 


SOME   ELEMENTARY    PRINCIPLES   OF 
THE   RELIGIOUS   LIFE 

ONE  of  the  earliest  forms  of  the  religious  con- 
sciousness is  the  sense  of  dependence.  In 
the  midst  of  the  mighty  and  mysterious  powers  which 
surround  him,  man  feels  his  weakness.  He  is  the 
victim  of  inevitable  pain,  and  of  the  nameless  terrors 
born  of  ignorance.  For  the  supply  of  his  needs  he 
is  dependent  on  the  bounty  of  that  nature  which  can 
frown  as  well  as  smile.  He  seeks  to  grasp  some 
hand  of  strength.  He  worships  the  power  which  is 
great  and  inscrutable,  but  his  worship  is  largely  the 
worship  of  weakness  dependent  on  strength.  This 
sense  of  dependence  is  an  indispensable  part  of  the 
religious  consciousness,  but  unaccompanied  by  other 
elements,  it  may  yield  a  very  crude  and  distorted 
creed.  If  the  God  who  is  worshipped  be  only  the 
God  of  power,  the  power  may  be  exercised  with 
caprice  and  favouritism.  The  history  of  religious 
beliefs  shows  us  that  under  certain  conditions  mni 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

were  prepared  for  the  caprice  of  their  gods,  and 
were  disposed  to  rely  upon  their  favouritism.  Even 
in  the  history  of  the  Chosen  People,  this  belief  in 
favouritism  had  its  place ;  and  one  of  the  tasks  of 
the  prophets  was  to  dislodge  it  from  the  hearts  of 
the  people.  When  the  people  declared  that  the 
Lord  was  the  God  of  Israel,  they  were  not  always 
giving  utterance  to  faith  in  God  as  we  understand 
it,  but  rather  to  a  superstitious  reliance  upon  the 
favouritism  of  Jehovah  ;  and,  therefore,  the  prophets 
denounced  this  as  a  blind  confidence.  Dependence 
is  an  essential  part  of  the  religious  consciousness, 
but  it  may  become  the  basis  of  a  meagre  and  per- 
verted creed.  It  needs  a  clear  and  steady  teacher 
to  inculcate  a  wholesome  dependence  without  en- 
couraging a  weak,  false,  and  selfish  reliance.  Super- 
stitious confidence  walks  close  behind  the  heels  of 
faith. 

i.  What  has  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  to  teach 
us  about  this  dependence  ?  Our  Lord  teaches  de- 
pendence, and  He  teaches  it  most  sweetly.  "  Behold 
the  fowls  of  the  air :  for  they  sow  not,  neither  do 
they  reap,  nor  gather  into  barns ;  yet  your  heavenly 
Father  feedeth  them.  Are  ye  not  much  better  than 
they  ?  Which  of  you  by  taking  thought  can  add 
one  cubit  unto  his  stature  ?  And  why  take  ye 
thought  for   raiment  ?     Consider  the    lilies    of  the 


ELEMENTARY  PRINCIPLES  OF  RELIGIOUS  LIFE 

field,  how  they  grow ;  they  toil  not,  neither  do  they 
spin  :  and  yet  I  say  unto  you,  that  even  Solomon  in 
all  his  glory  was  not  arrayed  like  one  of  these. 
Wherefore,  if  God  so  clothe  the  grass  of  the  field, 
which  to-day  is,  and  to-morrow  is  cast  into  the  oven, 
shall  He  not  much  more  clothe  you,  O  ye  of  little 
faith  ?  Therefore,  take  no  thought,  saying,  What 
shall  we  eat  ?  or,  What  shall  we  drink  ?  or,  Where- 
withal shall  we  be  clothed  (for  after  all  these  things 
do  the  Gentiles  seek) :  for  your  heavenly  Father 
knoweth  that  ye  have  need  of  all  these  things  " 
(Matt.  vi.  26-32).  As  He  speaks,  Nature  herself, 
with  varied  illustration,  is  giving  emphasis  to  His 
utterances ;  for  it  is  the  spring-time.  The  flowers 
are  in  the  land,  and  the  time  of  the  singing  of  birds 
is  come.  The  beneficent  hand  which  fills  all  things 
living  with  plenteousness  is  being  opened.  Earth 
is  answering  to  the  call  of  God.  The  promise  of 
new  life  and  fruitfulness  is  to  be  seen.  The  blossom 
is  on  the  trees.  Anxious  solicitude  may  be  banished. 
The  power  on  which  man  depends  is  a  power  of 
beneficence.  "  Your  heavenly  Father  knoweth  that 
ye  have  need  of  all  these  things."  Our  dependence 
on  God  is  natural  and  legitimate.  Christ  justifies 
such  a  dependence  on  our  part  by  the  holiest  of 
sanctions.  He  treats  it  with  a  kind  of  inevitablc- 
ncss;  for  our  reliance  is  the  reliance  of  children  on 
13 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

a  father.  His  teaching  is  that  it  should  need  no 
effort  to  exercise  a  trust  which  ought  to  be  a  part  of 
our  very  nature.  It  is  a  defect  of  our  nature  when 
we  distrust.  "  If  God  so  clothe  the  grass  of  the 
field,  which  to-day  is,  and  to-morrow  is  cast  into 
the  oven,  shall  He  not  much  more  clothe  you,  O  ye 
of  little  faith  ?  "  (Matt.  vi.  30). 

But  in  establishing  the  justification  of  our  depen- 
dence on  God,  Christ  protects  us  against  the  per- 
versions of  this  confidence.  He  speaks  so  as  to 
leave  no  room  for  superstition,  or  weak  confidence, 
or  hope  of  favouritism.  He  banishes  the  idea  of 
favouritism  in  a  clear  and  bold  fashion  by  declaring 
the  width  and  impartiality  of  the  divine  beneficence 
of  that  heavenly  Father,  who  "maketh  His  sun  to 
rise  on  the  evil  and  on  the  good,  and  sendeth  rain 
on  the  just  and  on  the  unjust "  (Matt.  v.  45). 

He  leaves  no  loophole  for  superstitious  confi- 
dence ;  for  He  bases  His  teaching,  not  on  any  weak 
suggestion  of  an  interference  with  the  general  order 
of  nature,  but  on  the  sufficiency  of  that  order,  and 
on  the  all-sufficiency  of  the  fatherly  wisdom  which 
is  behind  it ;  for  reliance  to  be  real  must  be  reliance 
on  God,  and  therefore  on  His  wisdom,  as  knowing 
our  needs  better  than  we  ourselves  do.  We  thus 
get  away  from  the  mere  barren  idea  of  dependence. 
We  depend  on  God,  it  is  true,  but  our  dependence 
J4 


ELEMENTARY  PRINCIPLES  OF  RELIGIOUS  LIFE 

is  not  limited  to  the  power  which  gives  food  and 
raiment.  It  means  reliance  on  the  character  of  God. 
Our  dependence  is  not  on  power  alone,  nor  even  on 
benevolence  alone.  It  is  on  the  wisdom  and  the  love 
of  Him  who  is  our  Father  in  heaven. 

ii.  At  this  point  we  touch  another  great  principle 
which  is  imbedded  in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount. 
It  is  perfectly  true  that  the  hard  facts  of  existence 
make  us  realise  the  importance  of  physical  life. 
Food  and  raiment  are  needful ;  and  the  greater  part 
of  our  time  is  spent  in  our  efforts  to  secure  them. 
But  at  the  best  these  are  only  means  of  subsistence. 
The  life  which  is  sustained  by  bread  is  more  than 
the  bread  which  sustains  it.  Behind  the  things 
which  are  seen  there  are  powers  and  forces  which 
are  greater  than  all  outward  forms.  The  outward 
world  is  beautiful;  and  Jesus  Christ  showed  a 
spirit  which  rejoiced  in  its  beauty.  The  Sermon  on 
the  Mount  has  in  it  that  quality  of  joyousness  in 
nature  which  has  so  often  been  wanting  in  religious 
teachers.  There  have  been  teachers  who  have  felt 
it  their  duty  to  turn  their  back  upon  the  radiance 
and  laughter  of  the  universe.  The  outward  and 
visible  world  has  seemed  to  them  to  be  the  foe  of 
all  that  is  spiritual.  With  Christ  it  was  otherwise. 
The  beauty  of  the  world  had  its  message  to  the  soul 
of  man.  The  facts  and  laws  of  the  universe  were 
is 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

instinct  with  meaning.  The  eye  that  would  look 
into  the  face  of  nature  might  see  more  than  mere 
beauty  of  form.  The  things  which  God  had  made, 
and  the  laws  by  which  He  wrought,  could  teach 
lessons.  The  fading  leaf,  the  growing  corn,  the 
dying  seed,  the  gorgeous  flower,  or  the  soaring  bird, 
had  voices  which  could  reach  the  heart. 

"  One  impulse  from  a  vernal  wood 
May  teach  us  more  of  man, 
Of  moral  evil  and  of  good 
Than  all  the  sages  can." 

The  same  reason  which  led  narrow  and  limited 
teachers  to  eschew  the  contemplation  of  natural 
beauty,  led  Christ  to  include  it  in  His  vision.  Men 
have  shut  their  eyes  upon  flower  and  stream  and 
star,  because  they  hoped  by  this  means  that  the  eye 
of  the  soul  would  be  opened  to  see  more  clearly  the 
things  of  the  spirit.  Jesus  Christ  said  :  "  Consider 
the  lilies  ;  behold  the  birds  : M  because  He  taught 
that  the  life  was  more  than  meat.  The  explanation 
is  simple.  Only  let  us  remember  the  idea  of 
ministry,  and  we  shall  see  the  significance  of 
Christ's  method.  He  asks  us  to  see  that  the  whole 
universe  is  pervaded  by  the  spirit  of  ministry.  The 
products  of  nature  are  for  the  needs  of  man.  The 
fruits  of  the  earth  minister  to  life  which  is  more 
than  meat.  But  behind  the  sweet  ministry  of  fruits 
16 


ELEMENTARY  PRINCIPLES  OF  RELIGIOUS  LIFE 

and  seasons  there  are  the  ceaseless  love  and  care  of 
Him  who  ordains  this  wondrous  ministration,  and 
who  does  so,  understanding  man's  needs.  So 
closely  bound  together  are  His  love  and  the  laws 
of  beauty  and  ministration,  that  fully  to  understand 
anything  would  be  to  understand  everything.  All 
things  are  brought  into  the  great  wheel  of  ministra- 
tion, and  all  things  preach  the  love  and  wisdom 
which  called  them  into  being  and  activity.  If  man 
can  only  realise  this,  he  will  be  saved  from  the  pain 
of  those  myriad  anxieties  which  torture  his  heart 
and  mar  his  peace.  But  this  deliverance  from  the 
torments  of  care  and  fear  is  not  for  peace's  sake 
alone.  God  does  not  bestow  faith  on  man  that  man 
may  fall  into  a  fat  and  sluggish  indolence;  but 
rather  that,  realising  God's  providence  and  God's 
character,  he  may  realise  that  the  life  is  more  than 
meat,  and  that  the  order  of  ministration  around  him 
is  designed  that  man  may  achieve  the  real  purpose 
of  his  being.  M  Seek  not,"  says  Christ,  u  what  ye 
shall  eat  or  what  ye  shall  drink."  Seek  not  a  life 
which  is  immersed  in  sordid  cares  and  low  ambitions. 
Seek  that  which  is  the  life  of  all  life.  Seek  that  for 
which  the  ministry  of  providence  is  opening  to  you 
Opportunities.  Seek  the  kingdom  of  God  and  His 
righteousness.  Transfer  your  ambitions  (and  as 
children  of  the  heavenly  Father  you  may  safely  do 
17  n 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

so)  from  the  material  to  the  spiritual.  It  is  a  matter 
of  more  moment  that  you  should  be  righteous  men 
and  women  than  that  you  should  be  wealthy.  To 
cultivate  your  moral  nature  is  of  more  importance 
than  to  consider  what  you  shall  eat  or  what  you 
shall  drink.  To  be  clothed  with  righteousness  and 
meekness  more  befits  the  sons  of  God  than  to  be 
clad  in  purple  and  fine  linen.  That  with  which  God 
can  clothe  His  children,  the  creatures  of  His  hand, 
is  more  fair  and  seemly  than  all  the  splendour 
which  the  riches  of  Solomon  can  command.  Higher 
than  all  outward  and  material  pomp  is  the  glory  of 
the  soul.  Not  what  men  have,  but  what  men  are, 
constitutes  their  real  worth.  Man  is  much  better 
than  the  birds  of  the  air,  because  he  can  grow  in 
moral  stature.  The  perfection  of  the  flower  is 
attained  in  beauty  of  colour  and  form.  The  perfec- 
tion of  the  bird  is  its  plumage  and  its  song ;  but 
man  can  aspire  to  perfection  of  a  higher  order,  even 
that  of  moral  character.  He  may  aspire  to  be  per- 
fect, as  his  Father  in  heaven  is  perfect. 

In  all  this  we  discern  the  ethical  quality  of  our 
Lord's  teaching.  He  seems  to  say  that  character  is 
everything.  The  basis  of  the  calm  trust  of  the  child 
of  God  is  to  be  found  in  the  character  of  God.  It  is 
because  of  His  fatherly  character  and  wisdom  that 
we  may  safely  rest  on  His  providence.  Character 
18 


ELEMENTARY  PRINCIPLES  OF  RELIGIOUS  LIFE 

is  everything.  The  end  of  life,  the  purpose  and  aim 
of  human  existence,  consists  in  the  perfecting  of 
character.  It  is  the  seeking  of  the  kingdom  of  God 
and  His  righteousness.  It  is  growing  perfect  as  the 
Father  is  perfect.  The  relationship  between  man 
and  God  is  not  merely  that  of  physical  need  and 
dependence.  It  is  a  relationship  of  the  spirit  and 
of  the  character.  It  finds  its  expression  in  moral 
resemblance.  True  fellowship  is  one  of  ethical 
affinity.  The  child  must  share  the  Father's  spirit, 
and  look  upon  life  with  his  Father's  eyes.  If  con- 
tentment comes  when  we  can  rely  upon  the  wise 
providence  and  fatherly  love  of  God,  happiness  is 
only  found  in  the  possession  of  moral  disposition  in 
harmony  with  God's  character.  This  is  Christ's 
proclamation  to  His  disciples.  Happiness  is  not 
found  where  the  world  seeks  it,  in  worldly  wealth, 
but  in  heavenly  dispositions.  Blessed — happy  are 
the  pure  in  heart,  the  meek,  those  who  hunger  for 
righteousness. 

In  realising  this  ethical  relationship  between  God 
and  man,  we  leave  behind  us  the  lower  forms  of  the 
religious  consciousness.  In  its  crudest  form,  religion 
is  the  sense  of  dependence,  the  reliance  of  the  weak 
upon  the  mighty  Ruler  or  rulers  or  powers  of  nature 
for  sustenance,  protection  and  succour.  This  sense 
of  dependence  will  always  be  present  in  religion. 
'9 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

Where  there  is  no  realisation  of  dependence,  there 
can  hardly  be  more  than  a  pale  shadow  of  religion. 
It  was  here  that  primitive  Buddhism  was  weak ;  for 
it  sought  to  create  a  religion  from  which  a  god  who 
could  or  would  help  man  was  absent.  But  though 
this  feeling  of  dependence  is  an  almost  necessary 
religious  conception,  the  religion  which  does  not  go 
beyond  it  is  crude  and  incomplete.  In  our  childhood 
we  may  be  content  to  recognise  in  our  father  the  one 
whose  hand  provides  our  food ;  but  even  before  we 
have  left  our  childhood  behind,  we  can  realise  that 
our  moral  growth  is  our  father's  care.  Christ 
presses  upon  His  hearers  the  need  of  realising  this 
principle.  Transfer  your  cares,  He  says,  from  the 
things  temporal  to  the  things  spiritual.  Seek  not 
food,  or  raiment,  or  wealth,  or  gains.  Dismiss  the 
painful  agitations  and  the  vulgar  cares  of  this  sordid 
view  of  life.  Turn  your  energies  towards  your 
moral  cultivation.  In  doing  so  you  will  accumulate 
imperishable  riches.  All  that  your  worldly  care  can 
bring  will  be  the  doubtful  possession  of  riches  of 
doubtful  value.  In  the  possession  of  the  moral 
wealth  of  a  noble  and  disciplined  character,  you 
possess  that  which  can  neither  wither  nor  be  stolen. 
What  we  have  we  must  leave  at  the  threshold  of  the 
grave.  What  we  are  goes  with  us  into  the  other 
world.     Riches  will  drop  from  our  dying  hand  into 


ELEMENTARY  PRINCIPLES  OF  RELIGIOUS  LIFE 

the  grasp  of  others.  Character  passes  with  us  into 
the  presence  of  God.  Character  is  everything. 
This  rather  than  worldly  riches  is  the  true  end  of 
life.  The  perfecting  of  this  is  the  true  purpose  of 
God  in  life. 

The  moment  this  is  realised,  the  whole  conception 
of  life  changes.  As  long  as  we  are  blinded  by 
worldly  ideas,  and  falsely  imagine  that  life  consists 
in  the  abundance  of  the  things  which  a  man  pos- 
sesses, we  are  keenly  alive  to  our  own  misfortunes. 
We  are  inclined  to  declare  that  life  is  not  worth 
living,  because  we  measure  the  worth  of  life  by 
material  standards.  But  when  we  begin  to  perceive 
that  life  is  moral  discipline,  and  its  end  the  per- 
fecting of  character,  we  can  be  content  with  food 
and  raiment,  for  we  are  sure  that  a  nobler  enrich- 
ment is  going  forward.  The  varied  experiences  of 
life  are  working  towards  that  happiness  which  is 
above  all  earthly  gain,  because  it  is  a  happiness 
within  ourselves,  a  happiness  of  disposition  and 
character.  If  happiness  consists  in  the  fulfilment  of 
the  end  of  our  being,  human  happiness  must  be 
found  in  growing  into  that  likeness  in  which  we 
\\(  re  made,  and  in  the  attaining  of  which  \vc  reach 
our  true  maturity,  and  realise  the  purpose  of  God. 
It  is  thus  that  man  is  brought  to  understand  what  is 
it  by  fellowship  with  God.     Discord  within  and 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

uneasiness  of  conscience  mean  want  of  harmony 
between  what  our  lives  are  and  what  they  ought  to 
be :  they  reveal  how  far  we  are  from  fulfilling  the 
true  purpose  of  life :  they  show  that  we  are  out  of 
harmony  with  the  order  of  our  life,  that  is  with  the 
will  of  God.  Peace  within  means  the  end  of  this 
discord,  the  harmony  of  our  will  with  God's  will. 
When  we  desire  what  He  desires  for  us,  our  moral 
dispositions  are  in  sympathy  with  Him,  and,  this 
being  so,  we  reach  that  stage  of  religious  progress 
which  may  be  called  fellowship  with  God. 

in.  Here  we  touch  another  principle  which  works 
through  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  There  have 
been  those  who  have  traced  what  they  called  Judaism 
or  Legalism  in  this  discourse.  Many,  who  would 
not  go  so  far  as  this,  have  yet  a  feeling  that,  though 
this  sermon  is  very  beautiful,  the  Gospel  must  be 
looked  for  elsewhere  in  the  New  Testament.  These 
words  of  Christ  are  regarded  by  such  as  being  a 
kind  of  incomplete  statement  of  the  Gospel  of  the 
kingdom.  The  sermon  or  discourse  starts,  in  their 
view,  midway  between  the  teaching  of  the  law  and 
the  declaration  of  the  Gospel.  In  other  words,  it  is 
thought  that  a  flavour  of  legalism  hangs  round  these 
words  of  our  Lord.  The  theory  which  underlies 
these  thoughts  is,  I  believe,  a  false  one.  The 
nearer  we  can  get  to  the  words  of  Christ,  the  nearer 
22 


ELEMENTARY  PRINCIPLES  OF  RELIGIOUS  LIFE 

we  shall  get  to  the  truths  of  the  Gospel.  His 
teaching  must  be  given  the  highest  place  in  our 
hearts  and  our  reverent  regard.  But  has  the  idea 
that  there  is  a  tint  of  legalism  in  this  discourse  any 
foundation  ?  It  is  difficult  to  understand  how  even 
superficial  readers  have  ever  supposed  such  a  thing. 
Those  who  have  endeavoured  to  grasp  principles 
will  know  how  completely  the  legalistic  theory  is 
undermined  by  Christ's  teaching. 

The  legalist  speaks  of  the  obligation  of  the  law, 
of  man's  duty  to  keep  it,  of  the  responsibility  which 
our  knowledge  of  the  law  entails,  of  the  awfulness 
of  the  consequences  which  fall  upon  those  who  fail 
to  fulfil  it.  The  law  and  the  penalities  of  the  law 
are  before  his  mind.  Doom  and  judgment  are  the 
notes  which  he  strikes.  "  This  do,  and  thou  shalt 
live,"  are  the  words  which  he  sounds  in  our  ears. 
This  legalism  has  its  place  and  its  use.  Rules  are 
QOt  the  highest  things  to  live  by,  but  rules  are  useful 
till  principles  are  understood.  But  "law  maketh 
nothing  perfect,"  as  the  apostle  says.  For  if  the 
perfection  of  man  is  the  perfection  of  his  character 
and  moral  dispositions,  something  more  than  the 
utterance  of  the  law  is  needed  to  achieve  it.  The 
may  be  holy,  just,  and  good;  but  its  holiness 
and  goodness  are  powerless  to  make  us  love  it  or 
transform  our  moral  dispositions.     The  law  can 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

only  indicate  what  is  good.  It  cannot  inspire  the 
soul  with  a  love  of  it.  And  yet  moral  perfection  is 
unattainable  if  the  heart  cannot  be  touched  with  the 
love  of  what  is  good.  What  is  the  value  of  correct 
conduct,  if  the  spirit  within  chafes  against  the  law  ? 
It  is  not  enough  that  we  should  observe  the  law. 
To  reach  inward  moral  perfectness  we  must  love  the 
law.  To  transform  the  schoolboy  into  the  student, 
we  must  do  more  than  supply  him  with  books  and 
insist  on  his  mastering  his  task.  We  must  fill  him 
with  a  love  of  knowledge.  Then  the  task  is  a  task 
no  more.  The  labour  we  delight  in  physics  pain. 
The  dutiful  observance  of  the  law  is  well  as  far  as  it 
goes  ;  but  it  is  far  from  the  highest  stage  of  the 
religious  life.  To  reach  that  highest  stage  we  must 
pursue  holiness  because  we  love  it.  We  must  seek 
goodness  because  we  desire  it.  The  love  of  what  is 
holy,  just,  and  true  must  have  taken  possession  of 
our  hearts.  In  other  words,  religion  must  be  a 
power  within  us,  and  not  a  mere  law  without  us. 
Now  it  is  just  this  inwardness  which  our  Lord 
teaches  in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  He  claims 
that  true  religion  must  reach  a  higher  level  than 
that  of  external  observance.  With  this  the  Scribes 
and  Pharisees  might  be  satisfied,  but  the  Son  of 
God  could  not  rest  content  with  anything  so  super- 
ficial. "  Except  your  righteousness  shall  exceed  the 
24 


ELEMENTARY  PRINCIPLES  OF  RELIGIOUS  LIFE 

righteousness  of  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  ye  shall 
in  no  case  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven  "  (Matt, 
v.  20).  He  leaves  us  in  no  doubt  as  to  the  nature 
of  that  higher  righteousness.  The  higher  righteous- 
ness is  the  spiritual,  inward  righteousness.  Ye 
have  heard  that  it  was  said  by  them  of  old,  "  Thou 
shalt  not  kill ;  and  whosoever  shall  kill  shall  be  in 
danger  of  the  judgment.  But  I  say  unto  you,  that 
whosoever  is  angry  with  his  brother  without  a 
cause  shall  be  in  danger  of  the  judgment."  And  as 
with  the  sixth  commandment,  so  also  with  the 
seventh.  The  motions  of  the  heart  have  their  right 
and  their  wrong.  If  we  are  to  test  truly  a  man's 
nature,  we  must  test  it  by  the  heart.  The  mere 
outside  conduct  may  belie  the  heart.  Many  appear 
outwardly  righteous,  who  have  no  inward  love  of 
righteousness.  We  can  only  know  what  a  man 
truly  is  when  we  know  his  heart.  The  real  man  is 
the  man  within.  He  is  found  in  the  dispositions 
and  desires  which  colour  his  character.  Upon  this 
our  Lord  insists  with  gravity  and  earnestness. 
True  religion  must  find  its  home  in  the  heart. 
What  spirit  has  the  man  ?  This  is  the  chief,  the 
crucial  question.  If  he  is  a  truly  religious  man,  a 
veritable  subject  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  he  must 
bring  into  bis  life  the  spirit  in  which  the  Father  of 
all  rules  His  kingdom.  As  the  Father  sends  ram 
-5 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

on  the  evil  and  the  good,  so  the  children  of  the 
kingdom  must  u  love  their  enemies,  bless  them  that 
curse,  and  do  good  to  them  that  hate  them  "  (Matt, 
v.  43,  44).  Now  this  teaching  is  the  very  opposite 
of  the  teaching  of  legalism.  This  teaching  carries 
us  upward  to  that  stage  of  religious  life  in  which 
spiritual  freedom  is  found.  No  man  is  a  truly  good 
man,  according  to  Jesus  Christ,  who  does  not  love 
goodness.  Goodness  followed  under  compulsion,  or 
dread,  or  from  a  hard  sense  of  duty  which  makes  its 
pursuit  a  drudgery,  is  not  the  goodness  of  heaven. 
In  the  kingdom  of  heaven  goodness  is  followed 
joyously  because  it  is  goodness.  The  doing  of  good 
is  pure  delight,  because  to  do  good  is  just  nature  to 
the  children  of  the  kingdom.  This  is  spiritual 
liberty ;  this  is  the  very  opposite  of  that  sense  of 
bondage  which  is  the  accompaniment  of  legalism. 
In  the  possession  of  the  spirit  which  loves  all  true, 
righteous  and  noble  things,  true  happiness  is  found. 
There  is  no  happiness  in  the  spirit  which  is  pining 
for  worldly  and  sinful  pleasures,  while  a  cold  and 
reluctant  homage  is  yielded  in  the  outward  life  to 
the  conventional  standards  of  righteousness.  Hap- 
piness lies  in  heavenly  dispositions.  They  are 
truly  happy  whose  inner  nature  moves  in  harmony 
with  the  laws  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  It  is  with 
the  declaration  of  this  principle  that  Christ  opens 
26 


ELEMENTARY  PRINCIPLES  OF  RELIGIOUS  LIFE 

this  discourse.  "  Blessed  are  the  poor  in  spirit. 
Blessed  are  they  that  mourn.  Blessed  are  the 
meek.  Blessed  are  they  that  hunger  and  thirst 
after  righteousness.  Blessed  are  the  merciful. 
Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart.  Blessed  are  the 
peacemakers." 

Such  are  some  of  the  principles  which  lie  im- 
bedded in  this  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  Dependence 
as  an  essential  element  of  religion  is  recognised  ; 
but  it  is  redeemed  from  the  danger  of  becoming  an 
enervating  superstition  by  the  strong  ethical  spirit 
with  which  it  is  associated.  But  this  strong  ethical 
element,  is  saved  from  sinking  into  legalism,  by  the 
child-like  spirit  of  the  religion  upon  which  our 
Master  insists. 


27 


THE   NEW   HEAVEN   FOR  MEN 


St.  Matt,  vi  32 
Your  heavenly  Father. 


THE   NEW   HEAVEN    FOR   MEN 


TT  was  a  saying  of  Edgar  Quinet  that  a  new 
J-  heaven  demands  a  new  earth.  The  apostle,  when 
he  saw  the  vision  of  the  renovation  of  all  things, 
beheld  "  a  new  heaven  and  a  new  earth  "  (Rev.  xxi.  i). 
"We,  according  to  His  promise,"  wrote  another  sacred 
writer,  "  look  for  new  heavens  and  a  new  earth  "  (2 
Pet.  iii.  13).  They  come  hand  in  hand.  There  is 
no  new  earth  without  a  new  heaven;  and  every  new 
heaven  brings  a  new  earth.  It  is  when  the  new  sun 
is  risen  in  the  heavens  that  earth  smiles  in  new 
beauty.  The  earth  depends  for  its  wealth  and 
splendour  upon  the  heavens.  If  the  corn,  wine,  and 
oil  cry  to  the  earth  for  nourishment,  the  earth  must 
cry  to  the  heavens  for  the  invigorating  power.  In 
human  experience  the  same  is  true.  Things  are  to 
us  bright  or  dark,  welcome  or  displeasing  according 
to  the  eye  with  which  we  regard  them.  The  glance 
Of  the  eye  is  like  the  light  of  the  sun  in  this,  that  it 
can  invest  what  it  looks  upon  with  brightness.  The 
3« 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

same  principle  works  in  religious  history.  The  law, 
if  we  may  call  it  so,  holds  good  in  the  religious  con- 
sciousness of  men.  When  men  saw  that  heaven 
smiled,  they  carried  the  smile  among  their  fellow- 
men.  When  in  their  judgment  heaven  frowned,  fear 
bred  distrust,  and,  as  nothing  is  more  cruel  than 
fear,  men  looked  on  each  other  with  cruel  eyes.  As 
was  the  heaven,  so  was  the  earth.  As  was  their 
conception  of  God,  so  was  their  attitude  to  their 
fellow-men.  The  new  heaven  made  the  new  earth. 
When  they,  thought  rightly  and  worthily  of  the 
Creator,  they  thought  fitly  and  worthily  of  the 
creature  of  His  hand. 

Christ  quickened  men's  hopes  of  a  better  age. 
The  vision  of  an  earth  wherein  should  dwell 
righteousness  was  made  clearer  by  His  means 
(2  Pet.  hi.  13).  If  sacred  writers  wrote  of  it,  and 
devout  people  clung  to  the  faith  of  it,  it  was  through 
our  Lord's  influence  and  teaching  that  such  enthusi- 
astic confidence  prevailed.  But  we  cannot  separate 
the  new  earth  from  the  new  heaven.  Christ  never 
divorced  these  two  ideas.  He  never  came  preaching 
vague  and  baseless  hopes  of  a  golden  age,  and  of  a 
good  time  coming.  He  never  spoke  of  earth  apart 
from  heaven,  nor  of  man  apart  from  God.  He  could 
assure  men  of  the  new  earth,  because  He  opened  to 
them  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  Foremost  in  His 
32 


THE  NEW  HEAVEN  FOR  MEN 

teaching,  and  made  the  source  of  every  hope  which 
might  arise  in  the  hearts  of  men,  was  His  teaching 
about  God.  To  understand  the  drift  of  His  words 
and  to  catch  the  significance  of  His  theory  of  the 
kingdom  of  God,  we  must  first  realise  the  conception 
of  God  which  He  puts  before  us. 

This  conception   is  comprised  in  a  single  word. 
He  proclaimed  God  to  be  the  Father  of  men.     In  the 
Sermon  on  the  Mount,  He  used  the  word  Father  in 
this  sense  no  fewer  than  sixteen  times  (Matt.  v.  16, 
45,  48;  vi.  1,  4,  6,  8,  9,  14,  15,  18,  26,  32;  vii.  11, 
21).     There  is,  moreover,  no  effort  or  straining  after 
effect  in  the  use  of  the  word.     It  falls  from  His  lips 
naturally  and  as  a  matter  of  course.     God  is  the 
Father  of  all.     The  truth  lies  beyond  all  question. 
It  is  the  primaeval,  nay,  eternal  truth.     It  has  never 
been,  it  could  never  be  otherwise.    Any  other  theory 
is  inconceivable.     The  whole  universe  would  lose  its 
brightness  and  its  meaning,  were  the  fact  otherwise. 
It  has  been  said  that  our  Lord  presented  no  theory 
of  the  universe.     If  this  means  that  He  offered  no 
scientific  account  of  its  origin,  and  of  its  laws,  it  is 
true  enough;    but   such   a   remark,  if  meant   as  a 
criticism  and  an  objection,  only  means  that  Christ 
did  not  do  what  lie  neither  pretended  nor  intended 
to  do.     But  if  it  means  that  our  Lord  had  no  clear 
\  lew,  and  offered  to  man  no  clear  view  of  the  mcan- 
33  c 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

ing  of  the  universe  as  it  affects  man's  moral  and 
spiritual  nature  and  offered  no  clear  conception  of 
the  spirit  and  order  in  which  the  universe  was 
governed,  then  the  objection  has  no  basis  in  fact  or 
truth.  For  nothing  can  be  clearer  or  simpler  than 
the  view  He  presents  of  the  relationship  of  God  to 
the  world  and  to  man.  In  His  reiterated  declaration 
ot  the  real,  abiding,  and  necessary  Fatherhood  of 
God,  He  gives  at  once  a  picture  of  the  sovereign 
order  of  the  world  and  of  the  spirit  and  significance 
of  the  government  of  the  universe  as  it  affects  man. 
In  the  simplicity  and  naturalness  with  which  He 
declares  this  truth,  we  perceive  that  He  adopts  no 
self-conscious  pose,  attracting  men's  attention  to 
Himself  as  the  originator  of  this  conception  of  God. 
He  speaks  of  it  as  one  who  joins  His  hearers  with 
Himself  in  the  recognition  of  this  conception  as 
nothing  novel  or  wonderful,  but  as  a  truth  which 
every  one  does  and  must  believe  and  acknowledge. 
He  builds  up  no  apology.  He  invents  no  syllogism. 
He  never  argues  that  it  must  be  so.  He  takes  for 
granted  that  in  His  own  mind  and  in  His  hearers' 
minds  it  is  so.  Men  are  to  let  their  light  shine 
before  men  that  they  may  glorify  their  Father  which 
is  in  heaven  (Matt.  v.  1 6).  They  are  to  love  and  do 
good  to  their  enemies  that  they  may  be  the  children 
of  their  Father  which  is  in  heaven  (ver.  45).  Osten- 
34 


THE  NEW  HEAVEN  FOR  MEN 

tatiousness  in  benevolence  brings  no  reward  from 
the  Father  (Matt.  vi.  i).  Men  may  pray  to  the 
Father  in  secret  (ver.  6).  All  men  may  unite  in  the 
prayer  which  addresses  God  as  "  Our  Father." 

It  is  needful  to  dwell  on  the  frequency  and 
naturally  easy  way  with  which  our  Lord  introduces 
this  conception  of  God  that  we  may  learn  how  real 
it  was.  It  is  not  pretended  that  our  Lord  was  the 
first  who  employed  this  word  "  the  Father  "  to  denote 
the  Creator  of  the  universe.  The  word  had  its 
place  and  its  deep  and  true  significance  in  the  Old 
Testament.  Isaiah  had  spoken  of  "  the  everlasting 
Father"  (Isa.  ix.  6).  The  later  Isaiah  had  based 
one  of  his  most  pathetic  and  prayerful  appeals  to 
the  Most  High  upon  the  fatherly  relationship 
between  God  and  His  people.  "  Doubtless  thou  art 
our  Father,  though  Abraham  be  ignorant  of  us  and 
Israel  acknowledge  us  not;  thou,  O  Lord,  art  our 
father,  our  redeemer;  thy  name  is  from  everlasting" 
i  I  EL  lxiii.  16).  Jeremiah  had  declared  God  to  be  "a 
father  to  Israel"  (Jcr.  xxxi.  9).  Malachi  had 
made  this  fatherly  relationship  the  ground  of  a 
Claim  (<>v  homage  and  honour.  "If  I  be  a  father, 
where  is  mine  honour?"  (Mai.  i.  6).  And,  reach- 
ing a  higher  level  still,  he  said  :  u  Have  \vc  not  all 

"in  Father?  hath  not  one  God  created  ua?"(liaL 

11.    10).      liul  *   like    these,   though   they  are 

35 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

full  of  significance  and  convey  the  hint  of  a  truth 
capable  of  deep  and  expanding  meaning,  do  not 
convey  the  truth  with  the  same  fulness  and  stability 
as  do  the  words  of  our  Lord.  We  feel  that  the 
words  of  the  prophets  may  involve  limitations  and 
hesitations  which  find  no  place  in  Christ's  utter- 
ances. Jeremiah,  for  instance,  sees  a  fatherhood, 
but  it  is  national,  not  universal.  The  fatherhood 
proclaimed  by  Isaiah  is  more  that  of  a  great 
Providence  towards  the  world  than  that  of  individual 
tenderness.  The  later  Isaiah  (lxiii.  16)  seems  to 
emphasise,  as  Jeremiah  does,  the  national  aspect  of 
the  truth.  And,  in  Malachi,  it  is  the  dignity  of  a 
Father,  rather  than  His  tenderness,  which  is  the 
uppermost  thought.  We  are  reminded  of  the 
claims  upon  His  children  which  the  honourable  title 
of  Father  carries  with  it.  The  thought  of  a  Father's 
providing  watchfulness  and  individual  love  is,  to 
say  the  least,  in  the  background.  Thus,  though  the 
language  of  these  prophets  carries  with  it  noble  and 
just  conceptions  of  God,  they  lack  the  fulness,  rich- 
ness, and  tenderness  of  conception  of  Him  which 
finds  expression  in  the  words  of  our  Lord.  They 
sing  sweetly  and  well,  but  they  give  voice  only  to 
the  prelude  of  that  music  which  Jesus  Christ  gave 
with  such  strength  and  sweetness  to  the  world. 
They  give  only  the  recitative.  The  air  which  went 
36 


THE  NEW  HEAVEN  FOR  MEN 

to  the  hearts  of  men  was  sung  by  Jesus  Christ.  In 
other  words,  we  have  approximations  to  the  fatherly 
idea  in  the  prophets.  They  shadow  forth  the 
thought  in  clear  and  strongly  marked  outline ;  but 
the  thought  lies  in  shadow  still.  It  is  to  the  true 
idea  as  the  spectre  on  the  Brocken  is  to  the  man 
whose  shadow  is  seen  among  the  clouds.  It  is 
human  in  form,  but  not  in  fact.  The  idea  of  the 
fatherhood  of  God  does  not  take  flesh  and  blood,  if 
we  may  use  the  expression,  till  it  is  given  to  us  by 
Christ  (cf.  John  xiv.).  When  the  fulness  of  the 
time  had  come,  the  fulness  of  the  idea  came  with  it ; 
for  only  thus  in  its  breadth,  in  its  universal  truthful- 
ness, in  its  aptness  to  individual  life  and  need  was 
the  thought  of  God  as  the  Father  in  heaven  given  to 
Israel.  Only  then  was  this  thought  in  its  fulness 
given  to  Israel. 

But  had  this  idea  of  Fatherhood  a  place  in  the 
minds  of  men  outside  Israel?  This  opens  a  wide 
field  of  inquiry  ;  but  it  may  safely  be  said  that  the 
question  cannot  be  settled  by  citing  from  Homer, 
Cicero,  Seneca,  and  others,  passages  which  speak  of 
the  Creator  as  Father  and  men  as  sons  of  the  gods. 
Verbal  resemblances  are  not  always  real  likenesses. 
A  we  saw  in  the  case  of  the  prophets,  the  word 
Father  may  be  used,  but  in  a  sense  less  full  and  less 
heart-satisfying  than  the  sense  in  which  it  was  used 
37 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

by  Jesus  Christ.  Homer  calls  Zeus  "  the  Father  of 
men  and  gods."  Men  are  described  as  bearing  a 
resemblance  to  the  gods.  St.  Paul,  we  all  remember, 
quotes  among  the  men  of  Athens  the  line  which 
must  have  been  familiar  to  many  of  them.  "As 
certain  also  of  your  own  poets  have  said,  For  we  are 
also  His  [God's]  offspring "  (Acts  xvii.  28).  Man 
was  the  son  of  gods ;  and  the  gods  were  kindly, 
tolerant,  magnanimous.  "  If  you  would  be  like  to 
the  gods,"  wrote  Seneca,  in  language  which  bears 
resemblance  to  Christ's  words,  "  bestow  benefits 
even  on  the  unthankful ;  for  even  upon  the  wicked 
does  the  sun  arise,  and  to  pirates  all  the  oceans 
open "  (cf.  Matt.  v.  45).  But  the  spirit  which 
breathes  in  the  heart  of  such  sayings  is  very  unlike 
that  with  which  our  Lord  inspired  His  words. 
Reliance,  filial  confidence,  the  flinging  of  the  whole 
weight  of  the  heart-life  on  the  guidance  and  disci- 
pline of  a  loving  Father-God,  find  no  real  place  in 
such  writers.  Their  faith,  their  ethical  tone,  falls 
very  far  below  this,  and  below  the  level  reached  by 
Old  Testament  singers  and  prophets.  Which  of 
them  ever  touched  the  note  struck  by  Jeremiah  : 
"  My  Father,  thou  art  the  guide  of  my  youth " 
(Jeremiah  iii.  4)  ? 

The  Greek  and  the  Roman  are  at  their  best  far 
behind  the  Hebrew  in  their  thoughts  of  God.     But 
38 


THE  NEW  HEAVEN  FOR  MEN 

if  Athens  and  Rome  fall  behind  Judaea,  it  may  be 
thought  that  Alexandria  can  present  a  loftier  concep- 
tion. Philo  indeed,  to  take  a  writer  who  has  been 
thought  to  have  had  contact  with  Christian  ideas, 
gives  us  noble  images  of  the  Divine  Being.  u  God," 
he  says,  "  is  the  driver  of  the  chariot,  the  pilot  of 
the  ship,  the  shepherd  of  the  flock ;  over  souls,  and 
bodies,  and  thoughts,  and  words,  and  angels,  and 
earth,  and  heaven,  and  things  seen,  and  powers 
unseen,  the  Ruler  of  all  things,  the  Father  of  the 
world."  But  beautiful  as  this  is,  it  is  by  no  means 
the  uppermost  thought  of  God  in  Philo's  mind. 
The  fatherly  idea  is  subordinated  (so  far  as  it  is  a 
truly  fatherly  idea)  to  the  thought  of  the  greatness 
and  incomprehensibleness  of  God:  "The  leading 
idea  which,  more  than  any  other,  seems  to  have 
taken  possession  of  the  mind  of  Philo  and  his  con- 
temporaries is,  that  the  Divine  Being  is  incompre- 
hensible and  invisible.  There  is  nothing  which  lie 
repeats  so  often  as  this,  nothing  for  the  sake  of 
which  he  is  so  ready  to  pervert  the  meaning  of 
Scripture."  So  wrote  Professor  Jowett,  who  tells 
118  that  Philo,  led  on  by  this  theory,  objected  to  the 
words,  "  I  am  the  Lord  thy  God,"  as  an  incorrect 
expression.  God  was  thus  pushed  away  from  men. 
He  could  not  act  directly  on  the  world. 

"Thrones,     dominations,     princedoms,     virtues, 
39 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

powers,"  as  in  some  Asiatic  court,  surround  the 
King  of  kings.  "They  are  efficient  causes  in  the 
hands  of  the  world."* 

Whatever  there  is  of  grace  and  beauty  in  these 
thoughts,  they  lack  the  divine  touch  which  is  felt  in 
the  teaching  of  Christ.  Other  teachers  make  us 
conscious  of  their  theories.  They  are  presented 
with  obviousness  and  effort.  We  are  in  the  atmo- 
sphere of  argument.  In  Christ's  teaching  there  is 
that  inevitableness  which  is  the  stamp  only  of  the 
highest.  In  His  lips  alone  does  the  thought  of  the 
Father-God  of  all  men  become  a  deep,  life-pervad- 
ing, spiritual  reality,  fraught  with  ethical  force. 

But  this  conception  of  God  must  not  be  kept  in 
the  region  of  mere  theory  or  theological  speculation. 
Our  Lord  never  treated  it  as  such.  It  was  a  living 
truth,  and  it  shed  light  upon  all  other  truths.  Life 
when  seen  in  its  light  became  a  new  thing.  Life 
reflected  back  the  smile  of  God  as  earth  reflects  the 
smile  of  heaven.  Because  the  heaven  which  Christ 
disclosed  to  man  was  radiant  with  a  Father's  love, 
earth  became  new  in  the  eyes  of  men ;  for  earth 
was  bathed  in  the  same  radiance.  Dark,  low, 
despairing  thoughts  of  life  became  impossible. 
Life  was  worth  living.     The  stern  old  Roman  way 

*  "St.  Paul's  Epistles,"  by  Professor  Jowett,  vol.  i.  pp.  395- 
399,  new  edition. 

40 


THE  NEW  HEAVEN  FOR  MEN 

of  quitting  it  was  not  possible,  because  the  scorn  of 
existence  which  found  a  place  in  philosophy  was 
impossible  to  the  man  who  realised  that  God  was 
his  Father.  In  other  words,  there  was  no  tinge  of 
pessimism  in  Christ's  teaching  because  pessimism  is 
impossible  where  the  fatherly  character  of  God  is 
understood. 

It  is  not  that  our  Lord  ignores  the  stern  facts  of 
life,  or  the  darker  and  sterner  facts  of  human  sin. 
On  the  contrary,  no  guide  of  man  has  put  his  finger 
so  unflinchingly  upon  human  wrong-doing.  None 
have  searched  so  deeply  into  the  hidden  and 
poisoned  sources  of  evil  in  man.  He  saw  the  evil 
not  in  action  only,  or  in  speech  only.  He  saw  it  in 
the  heart.  He  saw  and  He  said  that  the  evil  could 
not  be  banished  by  gagging  the  tongue  or  covering 
the  conduct.  The  tree  itself  must  be  made  good  if 
the  fruit  was  to  be  good  (Matt.  vii.  16-20).  He 
saw,  and  He  frankly  exposed,  the  hypocrisies  of  the 
conventionally  religious.  He  saw  the  moral  death 
which  lurked  behind  the  fairest  shows  of  piety.  He 
saw  how  good  itself  was  made  the  minister  of  evil 
by  the  corruption  of  men.  He  saw  the  dead  bones 
in  the  whited  sepulchre.  But,  seeing  all  this,  He 
did  not  despair  of  men,  and  He  used  no  speech 
Which  might  teach  men  to  despair  of  life.  When 
the  facts  of  life  and  the  evil  in  man  are  clearly  seen, 
41 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

men  are  tempted  to  lapse  into  pessimism,  unless  at 
the  same  time  the  higher  spiritual  truths,  the  facts 
of  heaven,  are  also  seen.  Insight  into  the  nature 
of  man,  and  vivid  realisation  of  the  ugly  facts  of 
existence,  may  plunge  men  into  despair,  or  may  lead 
men  to  those  theories  and  practices  in  which  hope 
itself  seems  to  have  grown  hopeless.  The  conscious- 
ness of  life  without  the  consciousness  of  God  ends  in 
a  pessimistic  aversion  to  life.  To  eat  of  the  tree  of 
the  knowledge  of  good  and  evil  may  end  in  despair. 

"  The  Tree  of  Knowledge  is  not  that  of  Life." 
Those  who  seek  to  nourish  themselves  on  knowledge 
without  the  knowledge  of  God  eat  but  are  not  satis- 
fied. They  are  not,  and  cannot  be,  fortified  to  look 
into  the  face  of  the  world.  To  do  so  is  to  see  the 
reasons  of  despair  without  perceiving  the  reasons  of 
hope.  To  do  so  is  to  see  the  snakes  uncoil  around 
the  face  which  looked  so  fair ;  and  it  is  to  be  petri- 
fied by  the  sight,  unless  some  kindly  hand  averts 
our  gaze  from  the  fatal  fascination.  Thus  to  avert 
the  gaze  has  been  the  object  of  some  philosophies 
and  religions.  Herein  lies  one  difference  between 
the  teaching  of  Jesus  Christ  and  of  Gotama.  The 
Indian  teacher  said,  "  Avert  your  gaze  from  life." 
Christ  said,  "Look  life  in  the  face."  The  one 
teaches  us  to  avoid  the  world  from  despair,  the 
other  to  overcome  it  by  faith. 
42 


THE  NEW  HEAVEN  FOR  MEN 

Some  writers  have  found  pleasure  in  dwelling  on 
the  parallels  in  circumstances  and  experience  be- 
tween our  Lord  and  Gotama.  The  temptation,  the 
forsaking  of  what  was  attractive,  the  parables 
spoken,  and  the  first  sermon  preached,  have  been 
dwelt  on.  But  while  there  are  resemblances  which 
none  can  deny,  there  is  a  difference  of  spirit  and 
teaching  which  is  evident  to  all  who  reflect.  A 
comparison  of  the  sermons  will  well  illustrate  what 
we  mean. 

Let  us  recall  the  Sermon  of  the  Buddha,  the  preach- 
ing of  which  was  regarded  by  his  followers  as  the 
"  inauguration  of  the  kingdom  of  righteousness  ;  "  and 
.as  "  a  turning  point  in  the  history  of  their  faith;" 
as  "  the  day  of  Pentecost  is  regarded  by  Christians." 
The  record  of  this  sermon  is  given  in  the  Dhamma- 
kakkappavattana-sutta  or  the  foundation  of  the 
kingdom  of  righteousness.  ("  Sacred  Books  of  the 
East,"  vol.  xi.  p.  139,  &c.)  It  is  briefly  as  follows — 
The  Blessed  One,  i.e.,  Gotama  the  Buddha, 
once  staying  at  Benares,  at  the  hermitage  called 
Migadaya.  And  there  the  Blessed  One  addressed 
the  company  of  the  five  Bhikkhus  and  said  :  "  There 
arc  two  extremes,  O  Bhikkhus,  which  the  man  who 
has  given  up  the  world  ought  not  to  follow — the 
habitual  practice,  on  the  one  hand,  of  those  things 
whose  attraction  depends  upon  the  passions,  and 
43 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

especially  of  sensuality — a  low  and  pagan  way  (of 
seeking  satisfaction),  unworthy,  unprofitable,  and 
fit  only  for  the  worldly-minded — and  the  habitual 
practice,  on  the  other  hand,  of  asceticism  (or  self- 
mortification),  which  is  painful,  unworthy,  and  un- 
profitable. 

"  There  is  a  middle  path,  O  Bhikkhus,  avoiding 
these  two  extremes,  discovered  by  the  Tathagata,  a 
path  which  opens  the  eyes,  and  bestows  under- 
standing, which  leads  to  peace  of  mind,  to  the 
higher  wisdom,  to  full  enlightenment,  to  Nirvana  ! 

"  What  is  that  middle  path,  O  Bhikkhus,  avoiding 
these  two  extremes,  discovered  by  the  Tathagata — 
that  path  which  opens  the  eyes,  and  bestows  under- 
standing, which  leads  to  peace  of  mind,  to  the 
higher  wisdom,  to  full  enlightenment,  to  Nirvana  ? 
Verily  !  it  is  this  noble  eight-fold  path  :  that  is  to 

say: 

"  Right  views  ; 

Right  aspirations ; 

Right  speech ; 

Right  conduct ; 

Right  livelihood  ; 

Right  effort ; 

Right  mindfulness ; 

Right  contemplation. 

"This,  O  Bhikkhus,  is  that  middle  path,  avoiding 
44 


THE  NEW  HEAVEN  FOR  MEN 

these  two  extremes,  discovered  by  the  Tathagata, 
that  path  which  opens  the  eyes,  and  bestows  under- 
standing, which  leads  to  peace  of  mind,  to  the 
higher  wisdom,  to  full  enlightenment,  to  Nirvana  ! 

11  Now  this,  O  Bhikkhus,  is  the  noble  truth  con- 
cerning suffering. 

"  Birth  is  attended  with  pain,  decay  is  painful, 
disease  is  painful,  death  is  painful.  Union  with  the 
unpleasant  is  painful,  painful  is  separation  from  the 
pleasant ;  and  any  craving  that  is  unsatisfied,  that 
too  is  painful.  In  brief,  the  five  aggregates  which 
spring  from  attachment  (the  conditions  of  individu- 
ality and  their  cause)  are  painful. 

"  This  then,  O  Bhikkhus,  is  the  noble  truth  con- 
cerning suffering. 

"  Now  this,  O  Bhikkhus,  is  the  noble  truth  con- 
cerning the  origin  of  suffering. 

"  Verily,  it  is  that  thirst  (or  craving),  causing 
the  renewal  of  existence,  accompanied  by  sensual 
delight,  seeking  satisfaction  now  here,  now  there  ; 
that  is  to  say,  the  craving  for  the  gratification  of 
the  passions,  or  the  craving  for  (a  future)  life,  or  the 
craving  for  success  (in  this  present  life). 

14  This  then,  O  Bhikkhus,  is  the  noble  truth  con- 
cerning the  origin  of  suffering. 

"  Now  this,  O  Bhikkhus,  is  the  noble  truth  con- 
cerning the  destruction  of  suffering. 

45 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

"  Verily,  it  is  the  destruction,  in  which  no  passion 
remains,  of  this  very  thirst ;  the  laying  aside  of,  the 
getting  rid  of,  the  being  free  from,  the  harbouring 
no  longer  of  this  thirst. 

"This  then,  O  Bhikkhus,  is  the  noble  truth  con- 
cerning the  destruction  of  suffering. 

"  Now  this,  O  Bhikkhus,  is  the  noble  truth  con- 
cerning the  way  which  leads  to  the  destruction  of 
sorrow !  Verily  !  it  is  this  noble  eightfold  path ; 
that  is  to  say : 

"'Right  views ; 
Right  aspirations ; 
Right  speech ; 
Right  conduct ; 
Right  livelihood  ; 
Right  effort  ; 
Right  mindfulness  ;  and 
Right  contemplation. 

"This  then,  O  Bhikkhus,  is  the  noble  truth  con- 
cerning the  destruction  of  sorrow." 

Such  was  the  teaching  of  the  Buddha.  It  was 
a  teaching  which  he  declared  was  not  handed  down, 
but  it  arose  within  him.  It  gave  him  insight  into 
that  wisdom  which  is  unsurpassed  in  heaven  or 
earth.  The  light  of  it  dawned,  as  the  Buddha 
spoke,  on  the  heart  of  one  disciple,  Kondanna  by 
46 


THE  NEW  HEAVEN  FOR  MEN 

name,  who  then  perceived  that  "  whatsoever  has 
an  origin,  in  that  is  also  inherent  the  necessity  of 
coming  to  an  end." 

The  teaching  which  we  have  here  may  be  accepted 
as  the  authentic  teaching  of  Gotama.  M  It  would 
be  difficult,  we  are  told,  to  estimate  too  highly  the 
historical  value  of  this  Sutta.  There  can  be  no 
reasonable  doubt  that  the  very  ancient  tradition 
accepted  by  all  Buddhists  as  to  the  substance  of 
the  discourse  is  correct,  and  that  we  really  have  in 
it  a  summary  of  the  words  in  which  the  great  Indian 
thinker  and  reformer  for  the  first  time  successfully 
promulgated  his  new  ideas.  And  it  presents  to  us 
ID  a  few  short  and  pithy  sentences  the  very  essence 
of  that  remarkable  system  which  has  had  so  pro- 
found an  influence  in  the  religious  history  of  so 
large  a  portion  of  the  human  race."  ("  Sacred  Books 
of  the  East,"  vol.  xi.  p.  140.) 

It  is  not  needful — indeed  it  is  not  right — to  un- 
dervalue the  character  of  this  teaching.  It  proclaims 
the  golden  mean.  It  speaks,  and  speaks  rightly, 
of  the  weak  and  mistaken  methods  of  extremists. 
It  realises  that  the  mortification  of  the  flesh  is  not 
the  subjugation  of  the  soul.  It  perceives  the  dis- 
roua  influence  of  uncontrolled  desires.  It  grasps 
nearly,  if  not  wholly,  the  truth  that  the  kingdom  of 

righteousness    is    within.     Thus,   as    far    as    man's 
47 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

moral  nature  is  concerned,  its  teaching  is  not  far 
from  the  kingdom  of  God.  But  though  this  truth  is 
so  nearly  grasped,  and  the  unsatisfying  character  of 
the  world  is  clearly  comprehended,  the  whole  effect 
of  the  teaching  is  disappointing.  It  has  a  pathetic 
rather  than  a  heroic  sound.  The  note  of  pessimism 
sounds  through  it  all.  The  flower  that  blooms  will 
die.  The  emotions  of  gladness,  the  tenderness  of 
love,  the  invigoration  of  friendship,  will  pass  into 
nothing.  "  Whatsoever  has  an  origin,  in  it  also  is 
inherent  the  necessity  of  coming  to  an  end."  And 
as  this  is  the  case,  the  path  of  wisdom  is  to  with- 
draw the  affections  and  interests,  the  wishes  and 
the  hopes  from  all  things,  to  live  as  those  who  are 
so  detached  from  life  that  all  desire  and  all  hope  of 
any  abiding  joy  have  passed  away,  and  with  them 
passes  away  also  the  capacity  for  suffering.  It  is 
quite  true  that  there  is  much  in  the  teaching  of 
Buddha  which  the  Western  mind  cannot  adequately 
appreciate.  The  terms,  the  imagery,  the  modes  of 
thought,  are  unfamiliar.  It  is  not  therefore  on  mere 
words  that  we  should  rely.  The  inferences  from  these 
may  fail  to  do  justice  to  the  teaching  of  a  teacher 
who  was  undoubtedly  great,  and  whose  character 
was  worthy  of  admiration.  But  as  we  read  the  first 
sermon  of  Gotama  without  partiality  and  without 
prejudice,  we  receive  an  impression  rather  of  sad- 
48 


THE  NEW  HEAVEN  FOR  MEN 

ness  than  of  hope.  We  are  brought  into  a  place  where 
it  is  darkness  and  not  light.     We  are  roused  to  no 
enterprise.     We  are  not  sent  back  to  life  invigorated 
or  encouraged.     Earth  and  life  seem  inexpressibly 
sad,  and  there  is  no  opened  heaven  above  our  heads. 
To   turn   from   the   sermon    at    Benares   to   the 
Sermon  on  the  Mount,  is  to  step  from  the  sepulchre 
of  the  dead  into  the  midst  of  the  meadows,  where 
the  flowers  are  growing  and  over  which  the  sun  is 
shining.     It  is  not  that  the  moral  standard  is  lower 
or  the  theory  of  life's  duty  is  less  severe.     There  is 
no  flinching  on  the  part  of  our  Lord.     He  holds  the 
flag   of    right   high   above    us.     He  will   have   no 
morality  which  does  not  claim  the  whole  heart  and 
nature  of  man.     But  neither  will  He  let  man,  weak 
as  he   is,  forsake   the   field.     While   Buddha  cries 
"  Retire,"  Christ  cries  "  Advance."    While  Buddha 
cries  "Reduce  the  powers  of  affection  and  hope," 
Christ  bids  us  live  life  fully,  enlarging  our  capacities, 
strengthening  while  elevating  our  affections.     The 
end  which    Buddha   points   to   is   the  cessation  of 
suffering.     The  end  which  Christ  proposes  to  man 
is  the  perfection   of  character.     The  noble  truths 
which    Gotama     proclaims     are    those    concerning 

.uflering,  concerning  the  origin  of  suffering,  concern- 
ing the  destruction  of  suffering,  and  concerning  the 

path  which   leads  to  this   destruction.     The  noble 
49  D 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

truths  which  Christ  declares  are  concerning  the 
blessedness  of  the  godlike  character  (Matt.  v.  3-10), 
the  power  of  influence  and  example  (Matt.  v.  13-16), 
the  power  of  love  (Matt.  v.  43-48),  the  joy  and  the 
duty  of  trust  (Matt.  vi.  25-34),  and  the  immovable 
stability  of  the  true  man  (Matt.  vii.  21-27).  And 
all  through  these  noble  teachings  the  note  of  glad- 
ness and  hope  is  sounded.  Life  is  worth  living. 
Happiness  is  not  a  delusion.  It  can  be  ours,  and 
ours  in  such  a  form  that  no  changes  can  rob  us  of 
its  joy.  The- heart  is  full  of  a  great  and  noble 
capacity  of  loving.  If  fixed  on  what  is  worthy,  it 
can  find  unfailing  and  undecaying  satisfaction.  For 
over  all  there  is  the  love  of  Him  who  is  worthy  to  be 
loved.  He  ceaselessly  watches  over  men.  He 
supplies  their  need  (Matt.  vii.  7- 10),  He  seeks  their 
highest  good  (Matt.  vii.  11),  and  He  will  certainly 
supply  their  earthly  needs  (Matt.  vi.  30).  It  is  this 
truth  of  the  fatherly  character  of  God  which  sheds 
the  prevailing  joyousness  over  Christ's  sermon.  It 
is  the  lack  of  this  truth  which  leaves  Gotama's 
sermon  gloomy  and  sad.  The  difference  is  here. 
The  sun  shines  in  one ;  there  is  no  sunlight  in  the 
other.  The  earth  takes  its  colour  from  the  state  of 
the  sky.  The  heaven  is  overcast  as  Gotama  speaks. 
Christ's  sermon  reflects  the  light  which  He  saw 
shining  over  all  mankind. 
50 


THE  NEW  HEAVEN  FOR  MEN 


That  light  was  the  light  of  a  Father's  presence.  As 
M.  Renan  said,  men  wanted  a  Father,  who  should 
take  count  of  their  efforts.  They  wanted  a  Father, 
but  they  did  not  feel  sure  that  God  was  their  Father. 
They  passed  through  stages  of  doubt  and  faith,  as 
has  been  pointed  out.  "  God  is  not  a  Father,"  they 
said.  God  is  like  a  Father,  they  ventured  to  hope. 
11  God  is  a  Father,"  they  at  last  learned  to  cry.  This 
idea  of  the  fatherhood  of  God,  which  is  regarded  by 
Professor  Max  Muller  as  specially  characteristic  of 
Christianity,  was  proclaimed  at  no  time  and  in  no 
place  so  clearly  as  it  was  taught  by  our  Lord  in  His 
Sermon  on  the  Mount.  The  Greek  and  the  Roman 
missed  its  true  significance.  The  Hebrew  prophet 
hardly  grasped  the  fulness  of  its  meaning.  The 
great  Indian  teachers  knew  nothing  of  it.  But  in 
the  ears  of  the  people  who  gathered  in  Galilee,  Christ 
did  more  than  proclaim  it  as  a  truth.  He  made  it 
the  main  thread  of  His  teaching.  In  doing  so  He 
made  a  new  heaven  over  men's  heads,  and  He  made 
it  certain  that  before  long  the  new  earth  must  appear. 


5i 


THE   ARGUMENT   OF   THE   SERMON 


St.  John  xvii.  24 

Father,  I  will  that  they  also  whom  Thou  hast  given  me,  be 
with  me  where  I  am  ;  that  they  may  behold  my  glory. 


THE  ARGUMENT  OF  THE  SERMON 

THE  Sermon  on  the  Mount  has  been  called  the 
Great  Charter  of  Christ.  Our  interest  in  it 
lies  in  the  moral  and  spiritual  truths  which  it  pro- 
claims. These  are  independent  of  all  questions  of 
place  or  time.  They  are  truths  for  every  spot  and 
for  all  time.  It  is  therefore  a  matter  of  little 
moment  to  identify  the  exact  place  where  the 
Sermon  was  delivered.  Doubtless  our  imagination 
might  form  a  more  vivid  picture  of  the  scene  and  its 
surroundings  if  we  were  able  to  say  with  certainty 
of  any  place,  "  Here  is  the  hill-side  where  the  new 
law  of  the  world,  which  is  the  eternal  law  of  God, 
was  given  to  mankind."  But  this  pleasure  of  imagi- 
nation is  denied  to  us ;  for  we  cannot  feel  certain 
that  the  mountain  of  the  Sermon  has  been  identified. 
Probable  conjectures  and  wild  guesses  have  been 
made.  The  idea  of  what  ought  to  be  has,  as  usual, 
governed  some  minds  in  their  determination  of  what 
was.  Some  reasoned  that  as  on  Sinai  Moses  gave 
55 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

the  Law,  so  upon  Sinai  also  should  the  New 
Covenant  be  proclaimed.  Therefore,  they  concluded, 
Sinai  was  the  mountain  of  the  Sermon.  This 
perverse  mode  of  reasoning  has  provoked  an  equally 
perverse  kind  of  criticism.  It  has  been  argued  that 
the  evangelists,  with  their  Jewish  prejudices,  were 
ambitious  that  their  Master  should  commence  His 
mission  with  the  same  eclat  and  splendour  with 
which  the  great  legislator  delivered  his  message  to 
Israel ;  and  therefore  they  invented  a  mountain 
from  which,  like  Moses  on  Sinai,  Christ  gave  His 
law.  But  reasonable  people  will  not  follow  these 
methods.  They  will  not  be  misled  by  any  hypo- 
thesis of  imaginative  fitness.  They  will  not  read 
any  sinister  motive  into  the  simple  statement  of  a 
natural  and  consistent  fact. 

The  narrative  strains  after  no  striking  or  sugges- 
tive effect  in  telling  how  Christ  gathered  His  dis- 
ciples round  Him  on  the  hill-side  and  opened  His 
mouth  and  taught  them  there.  The  whole  picture  is 
simple  and  harmonious.  Christ  loved  the  mountain 
heights.  He  was  wont  to  steal  away  to  the  quiet 
and  solitude  of  the  hills.  There,  removed  from  the 
noise  and  movement  of  life,  isolated  from  the  atmo- 
sphere of  fret  and  passion  in  which  men  dwelt,  on 
heights  lifted  above  the  lower  levels  He  held  com- 
munion with  His  Father.  It  was  natural  enough 
56 


THE  ARGUMENT  OF  THE  SERMON 

that  He  should  draw  His  followers  round  Him  on 
the  heights  He  loved  so  well.  It  was  consistent 
with  His  practice  and  His  teaching  that  He  should 
thus,  as  it  were,  shut  the  door  for  the  moment,  upon 
the  din  and  turmoil  of  life,  and  in  a  quieter  spot  and 
under  serener  skies  speak  of  the  Father  who  saw  in 
secret  and  would  sustain  their  faith  and  courage  in 
the  public  ways  of  life. 

We  may  dismiss  those  guesses  as  to  the  locality 
of  the  mountain  of  the  Sermon  which  are  based  on 
prepossession  or  prejudice.  At  the  same  time  we 
may  remember  that  there  are  many  eminences  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  Capernaum  which  were  suit- 
able for  the  purpose.  Robinson  noted  some  dozen. 
A  headland  on  the  north  of  the  town  runs  into  the 
lake,  and  on  one  of  the  elevations  of  this  hill  our 
Lord  may  have  gathered  His  disciples  around  Him 
when  He  opened  His  mouth  and  spoke  to  them  of 
the  things  of  the  kingdom  of  God. 

Around  Him  are  gathered  His  disciples.  It  has 
been  thought  that  He  spoke  only  to  a  few.  Some 
have  sought  to  limit  the  company  to  the  twelve. 
The  indications  of  time  are  against  this  limitation. 
At  this  time  the  specific  selection  of  the  twelve  had 
not  formally  taken  place.  The  company  assembled 
was  the  more  numerous  body  of  those  who  arc 
described  as  disciples.  Is  the  word  to  be  taken  in 
57 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

a  very  strict  sense  ?  Are  we  to  suppose  that  our 
Lord  spoke  this  Sermon  only  to  those  who  had  in 
some  formal  fashion  avowed  themselves  as  His  dis- 
ciples, and  who  might  be  regarded  as  belonging  to  a 
sort  of  initiated  class  ?  A  further  question  must 
follow  this.  Was  the  teaching  of  our  Lord  de- 
signedly different  from  time  to  time  according  as  He 
spoke  to  the  initiated  or  uninitiated  ?  It  is  quite 
true  that  our  Lord  varied  His  teaching.  He  spoke 
to  men  as  they  were  able  to  bear  it.  As  a  wrise 
teacher,  He  thought  of  the  good  of  those  to  whom 
He  spoke.  There  was  no  paedagogic  love  of  display 
in  His  teaching.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  there  was 
no  reserve.  There  were  not  truths  for  the  initiated, 
and  other  and  different  truths  for  the  uninitiated. 
What  He  spoke  to  the  disciples  was  truth  also  for 
all.  His  teaching  of  those  immediately  about  Him 
became  more  distinct  as  they  sought  from  Him 
explanations  of  what  He  had  said.  He  does  not 
alter  or  vary  truth.  He  explains.  He  varies  His 
mode  of  stating  and  teaching  truth.  The  difficulty, 
if  there  be  any  difficulty  here,  is  largely  a  created 
one.  It  is  better  to  understand  the  word  disciple  in 
a  broad  and  general  sense,  and  take  it  to  mean 
those  who  were  attracted  by  His  teaching  and 
sought  therefrom  opportunities  of  hearing  His 
instruction.  The  limitation  of  the  company  then  is 
58 


THE  ARGUMENT  OF  THE  SERMON 

not  an  artificial  or  arbitrary  one.  It  is  rather  what 
we  may  describe  as  a  limitation  of  natural  selection. 
Among  those  who  gathered  round  Him  were  people 
who  from  their  constancy  in  seeking  Him  might  be 
called  disciples.  But  even  when  He  spoke  to  such, 
He  often  spoke  in  the  hearing  of  more  casual 
listeners.  He  spoke  to  His  disciples,  we  read,  in 
one  case  at  any  rate,  in  the  audience  of  the  people. 
He  never  spoke  in  the  hearing  of  His  disciples  words 
which  were  not  words  also  for  the  whole  world. 

It  is  necessary  to  dwell  on  this  point,  as  there 
have  been  writers  who  have  sought  to  rob  from  men 
some  parts  of  Christ's  teaching.  By  making  over- 
much of  the  distinction  between  the  disciples  and  the 
multitude,  they  have  introduced  the  notion  of  an 
esoteric  and  exoteric  teaching  on  the  part  of  our 
Lord  ;  and  from  this  the  step  has  not  been  far  to 
claim  that  portions  of  Christ's  noblest  and  most 
universal  teaching  belong  not  to  mankind,  but  to 
some  few  who  hold  a  special  cachet  and  upon  whom 
has  been  bestowed  the  key  of  interpretation.  It  is 
for  this  reason  that  we  need  to  remind  ourselves  that 
whatever  may  have  been  the  character  of  those  who 
heard  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  however  true  it  may 
be  that  the  Sermon  evoked  more  intelligent  response 
in  some  than  it  did  in  others,  the  truths  which  it 
declared  were  truths  for  the  world.  The  teaching 
59 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

was  not  for  the  disciples  alone.  The  Voice  which 
told  wherein  happiness,  duty,  and  the  meaning  of 
life  consisted,  spoke  from  the  Galilean  hill-side  to  the 
whole  human  race. 

The  Sermon  itself  has  greatly  exercised  the  minds 
of  thoughtful  and  devout  men.  The  first  and  most 
natural  step  is  to  compare  the  discourse  in  St.  Luke 
(ch.  vi.  20-49)  with  that  given  by  St.  Matthew  (ch. 
v.-vii.).  The  differences  strike  us  immediately. 
The  Sermon  given  by  St.  Luke  is  much  shorter.  It 
diverges  also  from  that  of  St.  Matthew  in  several 
noticeable  particulars.  The  Beatitudes  are  different 
in  form.  In  St.  Luke's  discourse  the  sound  of  woe 
is  heard  side  by  side  with  the  words  of  blessing 
(Luke  vi.  24-26).  Are  we  to  conclude  that  the 
evangelists  give  us  records  of  two  distinct  dis- 
courses, bearing  that  resemblance  to  one  another 
which  is  not  unnatural  in  the  case  of  any  teacher 
who  does  not  hesitate  to  repeat  world-needed  truths  ? 
Or,  did  each  evangelist  give  his  own  remembrance 
of  some  one  or  more  of  the  discourses  of  our  Lord  ? 
Were  they  anxious  to  give  a  faithful  picture  of  the 
general  teaching  of  Christ,  rather  than  to  be  the 
reporters  of  some  specific  Sermon  ?  Some  critics 
have  found  what  they  believe  to  be  various  strata  in 
the  Sermon  indicative  of  different  epochs,  and  have 
concluded  that  the  discourse,  as  we  have  it,  is  a  com- 
60 


THE  ARGUMENT  OF  THE  SERMON 

pilation  of  recollections,  of  more  than  one  sermon. 
St.  Matthew's  version  does  not  (so  it  is  said)  hang 
together.  The  evangelist  has  brought  together  in 
one  elaborate  Sermon  utterances  of  our  Lord  made 
at  comparatively  widely  separated  periods.  At  the 
same  time,  it  is  said  that  the  elaboration  and  order 
are  too  perfect  to  have  been  possible  in  one  single 
discourse.  These  criticisms  do  not  seem  harmonious. 
But,  like  mutually  contradictory  pleadings  in  a  court 
of  law,  they  have  their  separate  force.  There  is  no 
objection  to  our  supposing  that  the  evangelist 
grouped  his  remembrances  into  the  forms  which 
were  natural  and  easy  to  himself.  It  has  long  ago 
been  noticed  that  Matthew  edited,  if  we  may  be 
allowed  the  expression,  the  discourses  of  our  Lord. 
The  question  whether  the  whole  Sermon  contained 
in  the  three  chapters  of  St.  Matthew  (ch.  v.,  vi.,  vii.) 
was  delivered  as  it  now  stands  or  wTas  compiled  from 
separate  sermons,  is  of  less  importance  than  the 
question  whether  we  have  in  these  chapters  the 
genuine  teaching  of  our  Lord.  And  on  this  question 
there  is  practically  little  doubt.  "It  is  admit;* 
says  Kcim,  u  on  all  sides,  even  by  Bauer  and  Strauss, 
that  this  address  undoubtedly  contains  a  great 
Dumber  of  genuine,  vigorous,  and  striking  utterances 
of  Jesus,  a  veritable  microcosm  of  the  new  higher 
conception  of  the  universe "  (Kcim,  vol.  iii.  p.  17, 
61 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

T.  T.  F.  L.).  "  It  contains,"  he  adds,  u  a  treasure  of 
such  original  and  pregnant  sayings  of  Jesus  as  He 
actually  delivered  in  the  springtime  of  His  teaching." 
It  is  possible  that  some  portions  of  the  Sermon  may 
have  belonged  to  a  later  time,  but  even  on  this  point 
there  is  some  doubt.  For  instance,  it  is  possible 
that  one  portion  of  the  Sermon  was  spoken  to  the 
people  generally,  and  that  afterwards  our  Lord  spoke 
more  fully,  though  on  the  same  lines,  to  the  more 
intimate  circle  of  His  disciples.  But,  even  after 
making  all  allowances,  we  may  be  satisfied  that  we 
have  in  these  chapters  of  St.  Matthew's  Gospel  the 
substance  of  the  genuine  teaching  of  our  Lord.  The 
hand  of  the  evangelist  may  have  edited  or  compiled 
the  Sermon  from  his  recollections  ;  the  words,  and 
what  is  more,  the  spirit  of  Jesus  Christ  are  here. 
The  discourse,  as  recorded  by  St.  Matthew,  may 
have  been  given  in  different  portions  at  different 
times,  but  read  as  a  whole  the  chapters  display  order 
and  connection.  The  Sermon  passes  from  point  to 
point,  and  each  new  section  rises  naturally  out  of  its 
predecessor,  while  all  so  succeed  one  another  as  to 
lead  with  persuasiveness  and  inevitableness  to  a 
vigorous  and  striking  conclusion. 

The  Sermon  has  in  it  an  ethical  order,  akin  to 
that   dramatic    harmony,    which    characterises    the 
highest  kinds  of  spoken  addresses. 
62 


THE  ARGUMENT  OF  THE  SERMON 

We  must  follow  out  this  order,  or  we  shall  lose 
the  full  force  of  our  Lord's  teaching.  Much  good 
may  spring  from  the  study  of  special  portions,  or 
even  of  isolated  verses,  for  these  are  instinct  with 
living  meaning.  But  the  highest  gain  belongs  to 
those  who  seek  to  grasp  the  general  drift  of  the 
whole,  and  who  thus  gain  an  insight  into  the  spirit 
of  our  Lord's  words ;  for  whether  the  Sermon  as 
we  have  it  was  a  single  discourse  or  a  compilation 
from  several,  it  is  given  to  us  by  St.  Matthew  as  a 
compacted  whole  which  represents  the  early  teach- 
ing of  Christ. 

It  was  thus,  then,  that  our  Lord  taught  His  dis- 
ciples. 

The  seat  of  true  happiness  lies  within  man,  for 
happiness  does  not  consist  in  the  things  which  are 
the  mere  accidents  of  life,  but  in  those  things  which 
belong  to  its  essence,  that  is,  in  the  moral  disposi- 
tions and  in  the  spiritual  attitude  of  man  (Matt.  v. 
I-I 2).  But  everything  which  has  vitality  in  it  is  also 
diffusive,  influential,  reproductive.  The  inner  ethical 
dispositions  must  reveal  themselves  for  the  benefit  of 
the  world  (ch.  v.  13-16).  But  though  the  inward  is 
the  true  kingdom  of  man,  there  is  no  real  hostility 
between  this  conception  and  loyalty  to  the  law.  On 
the  contrary,  the  realisation  that  the  abode  of  happi- 
and  the  throne  of  man's  kingdom  are  within, 
63 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

deepens  and  intensifies  the  significance  of  the  law 
and  the  prophets.  The  least  thing  becomes  great 
in  the  light  of  a  universal  law  (ch.  v.  17-19).  The 
conception  of  righteousness  is  elevated  wherever  the 
spiritual  conception  of  life  is  realised  (ch.  v.  20). 
Though  no  act  of  wrong  can  be  specified,  murderous, 
licentious,  reckless,  and  vindicative  dispositions  are 
standing  violations  of  the  law  (ch.  v.  21-42).  Nay, 
mere  negative  virtue  is  no  virtue  at  all.  Not  to  do 
evil  is  not  the  whole  law.  To  limit  the  obligations 
of  law  by  artificial  or  geographical  boundaries 
reveals  a  disposition  which  has  missed  the  spirit  of 
the  law.  There  is  a  law  behind  the  words  of  law, 
and  that  is  the  law  which  the  spirit  of  the  law 
imposes  upon  the  spirits  of  men.  Not  to  do  harm 
would  be  a  poor  result  for  any  divinely  given  law  to 
achieve.  The  true  son  of  the  law  will  catch  the 
spirit  of  the  lawgiver.  He  will  not  be  satisfied  to 
love  his  neighbour  and  hate  his  enemy.  He  will 
catch  the  spirit  of  Him  whose  love  falls  in  bounty 
upon  all.  He  will  seek  to  be  perfect  as  His  Father 
is  perfect  (ch.  v.  43-48).  Such  is  the  higher  life 
which  a  deep  and  spiritual  interpretation  of  life  and 
law  enforces. 

But  this  higher  life   is   above  all   earthliness   of 
conception,  and  excludes  worldliness  of  motive.     It 
is  hostile  to  the  spirit  of  ostentatious  piety.     It  has 
64 


THE  ARGUMENT  OF  THE  SERMON 

its  roots  within  and  above.  Its  life  is  not  derived 
from  the  love  of  applause.  The  disciple  must, 
therefore,  beware  of  any  ambitious  display  of  a 
piety  higher  than  that  of  others.  He  must  dis- 
tinguish between  the  real  and  unreal.  The  real 
arises  from  genuine  love  of  the  heavenly  Father, 
the  unreal  from  love  of  the  applause  of  men.  But 
alms,  prayer,  fasting,  which  are  well  enough  in 
themselves,  may  spring  from  unworthy  motives, 
and  so  prove,  religiously  speaking,  unreal  (ch.  vi. 
1-18).  The  line  which  divides  the  real  from  the 
unreal  is  a  line  which  is  drawn  in  the  heart  of  man. 
As  happiness  lies  in  the  disposition,  goodness  and 
badness  are  to  be  found  there  also.  The  worldly, 
fame-loving,  lucre-loving  disposition  leads  to  unreal 
piety  (ch.  vi.  1 6).  All  the  life  is  coloured  by  the 
spirit  or  disposition  of  the  man  (ch.  vi.  17-23).  It 
is  vain  to  attempt  to  reconcile  the  irreconcilable.  If 
a  man's  heart  goes  out  to  the  world,  his  piety  will 
only  be  awkward,  unnatural,  unreal,  a  burden 
bound  upon  him,  not  a  necessity  of  his  life  and 
nature  (ch.  vi.  24).  Nay,  consider  how  far  this 
worldly  spirit  is  from  the  truly  religious  spirit. 
That  spirit  is  filial.  Life  is  apportioned  by  a  1 
Father,  who  knows  and  understands.  To  live  in 
the  spirit  of  goading  anxiety  is  to  distrust  the 
Father's  care;  to  live  for  the  accidental  rewards  and 

65  E 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

applause  of  life  is  to  insult  and  forget  it.  Nay,  all 
the  fume  and  fret  of  life  is  vain;  it  can  achieve 
nothing.  It  needlessly  disturbs  the  soul,  which 
should  leave  to  God  the  Father  the  ordering  of  its 
life.  The  disciple's  mind  should  be  set  upon  moral 
and  spiritual  advance ;  it  would  then  have  no  time 
or  scope  for  lesser  and  lower  things  (ch.  vi.  25-34). 
The  higher  life  dismisses  the  snares  of  worldliness, 
whether  they  come  as  ambitions  or  anxieties.  It 
has  one  aim — righteousness,  because  it  has  One 
whom  it  seeks  to  resemble,  the  Father  in  heaven 
(ch.  vi.  33  and  v.  48).  But  even  the  earnest 
pursuit  of  righteousness  is  not  without  its  snares 
for  weak  and  self-ridden  men.  The  disciple  may 
escape  the  temptation  to  display  his  piety  to  win 
the  applause  of  men,  but  he  may  allow  his  ideas  of 
righteousness  to  lead  him  into  censorious  and  un- 
charitable moods.  He  may  judge  others  harshly 
and  unlovingly  (ch.  vii.  1-5).  He  may,  in  his  very 
zeal  for  righteousness,  sin  against  the  law  of  love. 
He  may  seek  good  by  means  which  are  not  good. 
He  may  make  his  piety  the  slave  of  uncharitable 
thoughts  and  unruly  passions.  He  may  make  the 
precious  jewel  of  his  own  religious  life  the  prey  of 
prejudices  and  unbrotherly  judgments  (ch.  vii.  6). 
Thus  there  are  snares  round  the  path  of  piety. 
Egotism  may  enter  into  it,  either  in  the  guise  of 
66 


THE  ARGUMENT  OF  THE  SERMON 

ambition  or  in  that  of  unbrotherly  arrogance.  It 
needs  the  help  of  a  Father's  hand  to  guard  against 
these  snares.  But  here  again  the  principle  of  the 
inwardness  of  life  will  help.  Happiness  is  within, 
the  throne  of  righteousness  is  within,  the  Holy  of 
Holies  may  be  within  ;  for  inward  strength  is  given 
to  those  who  ask  and  seek  (ch.  vii.  7-10),  by  Him 
who,  if  He  gives  rain  to  the  evil  and  the  good,  will 
not  withhold  His  Spirit  from  those  who  hunger  and 
thirst  after  righteousness  (ch.  vii.  11).  The  disciple, 
in  proportion  as  he  understands  the  Spirit  of  God, 
will  cultivate  the  habit,  not  of  judging  men,  but  of 
trying  to  understand  them  by  putting  himself  in 
their  place  (ch.  vii.  12). 

Thus,  though  the  kingdom  of  happiness  and 
heaven  is  within,  there  are  inward  temptations  also, 
which  arise  out  of  untrained,  worldly,  selfish,  and 
arrogant  affections.  It  is  not  easy  to  do  right.  It 
is  hard  indeed  to  do  right  in  the  right  way.  We 
may  do  good  from  worldly  motives,  so  close  beside 
one  another  are  piety  and  worldliness.  But  even  if 
we  escape  these,  there  remains  the  last  and  subtle 
temptation  of  eager  and  earnest  souls — the  tempta- 
tion to  promote  good  in  ways  which  are  not  good, 
to  cast  pearls  before  swine,  to  do  evil  that  good  may 
come  (chs.  vi.  and  vii.  1-6).  He  who  would  be  a 
disciple  indeed,  therefore,  will  find  that  he  must  not 
67 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

only  abandon  worldly  things,  he  must  abandon  self, 
so  strait  is  the  gate  and  narrow  the  way  of  true  life. 
Many  miss  it  because  they  are  content  with  piety  on 
the  outside,  with  piety  of  words,  with  plausible  reason- 
ings for  evading  the  spirit  of  the  law  of  God  (ch.  vii. 
1 3,  14).  But  all  who,  even  under  the  pretext  of  right- 
eousness, set  aside  the  clear  rule  of  righteousness  and 
love,  who  would  either  do  wrong  or  do  right  wrongly, 
who  would  not  do  wrong  and  yet  would  wrongly 
win,  are  false  prophets.  No  matter  how  urgently 
they  plead  the  righteous  cause  as  an  excuse  for  un- 
righteous deeds,  they  are  bad  weeds  and  injurious 
growths  in  the  garden  of  the  Lord  (ch.  vii.  15-19). 
The  test  of  men  is  their  conduct,  their  deeds ;  no 
amount  of  religious  talk,  no  pious  intentions  can 
alter  the  truth  that  the  tree  is  known  by  its  fruit, 
and  a  man's  disposition  by  his  conduct  (ch.  vii. 
20-23).  The  time  for  testing  men  will  come;  then, 
not  those  who  have  used  religious  language,  or  who 
have  done  certain  religious  actions,  or  who  have 
promoted  with  zeal  and  eagerness  religious  objects, 
will  stand  the  test.  Only  those  who  have  been 
truly  and  really  religious,  who  have  translated  the 
law  into  their  lives,  who  have  practically  carried  out 
their  religious  principles,  inwardly  by  loving  them 
and  outwardly  by  living  them,  will  abide  unshaken 
in  the  hour  when  the  house  is  assailed  by  flood  and 


THE  ARGUMENT  OF  THE  SERMON 

tempest.  Then  the  difference  between  the  real  and 
the  unreal  will  be  made  manifest.  Then  the 
religion  which  is  theory,  opinion,  sentiment,  will  be 
found  wanting,  while  the  religion  which  is  practical 
in  heart  and  thought  and  life  will  remain  unmoved 
(ch.  vii.  24-27). 

The  teaching  thus  given  is  clear  and  explicit. 
We  are  carried  naturally  from  point  to  point. 
However  it  has  come  to  pass,  the  order  and  con- 
nection are  sustained.  Instruction,  exposition,  and 
caution  are  used  in  teaching  concerning  man's  hap- 
piness, character,  and  destiny.  The  discourse  is  by 
turns  calm  and  lucid,  animated,  earnest  even  to 
irony.  It  is  simple  and  profound  when  it  sets  forth 
principles  :  it  becomes  more  vivid  and  oratorical  as 
it  deals  with  their  practical  application.  It  is  less 
didactic  and  less  antithetical  as  it  moves  towards 
the  close.  The  points  have  been  made  clear :  the 
argument  is  complete :  the  fire  kindles :  the  passion 
of  persuasion  is  felt :  the  climax  is  reached  In  the 
graphic  setting  forth  of  the  fates  of  moral  reality 
and  moral  unreality  (ch.  vii.  24-27).  All  this  is 
natural.  It  follows  the  lines  in  which  a  noble 
address  inevitably  develops.  The  differences  in 
tone  and  treatment  between  the  earlier  and  later 
portions  of  the  Sermon  have  been  taken  to  indi* 
that  we  have  an  earlier  and  a  later  Sermon;  but 
69 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

may  not  these  differences  be  variations  natural  to 
the  development  of  the  address  ?  The  latter  part 
differs  from  the  earlier,  we  are  told.  u  Instead  of 
thesis  and  antithesis,  there  is  simply  a  vigorous 
antagonism,  overthrowing  and  then  building  up; 
instead  of  doctrine,  practice  ;  instead  of  attack  upon 
doctrine,  the  rejection  of  practice;  instead  of  in- 
cisive, quietly  acute,  and  comprehensive  brevity,  we 
have  wealth  of  detail  on  a  limited  canvas,  an  arti- 
ficial ostentation  of  refrain,  a  more  agitated  and 
excited  mood,  and  an  inexhaustible  play  of  annihi- 
lating irony."  *  We  should  prefer  to  omit  from  this 
description  some  exaggerated  epithets,  and  to  speak 
of  a  bolder  use  of  refrain,  a  more  earnest  mood 
which  expresses  itself  now  in  irony  and  now  in 
vehemence.  But  having  done  this,  we  may  readily 
accept  the  description  as  expressing  with  fair  exact- 
ness the  difference  between  the  early  and  the  later 
parts  of  the  Sermon.  But  are  not  these  changes 
characteristic  of  the  growing  warmth  and  persua- 
siveness of  the  discourse  ?  Does  not  the  speaker, 
after  calm,  careful,  incisive  analysis  and  exposition, 
pass  on  to  the  work  of  application  and  persuasion  ? 
Have  we  not  here  qualities  which  indicate  one 
great,  harmonious,  varied,  but  purposeful  discourse  ? 
The  truths  are  not  less  true,  even  if  this  is  not  the 

*  Keim. 
70 


THE  ARGUMENT  OF  THE  SERMON 

case ;  but  the  oratorical  completeness  displayed — if 
I  may  use  the  expression — ought  to  count  for  some- 
thing in  our  judgment  on  the  matter.  The  Sermon 
has  too  often  been  regarded  as  a  series  of  isolated 
and  mutually  irrelevant  utterances.  It  has  been 
treated  as  a  treasury  of  choice  sayings,  while  in  fact 
it  is  a  connected  address,  in  which  teaching,  argu- 
ment, and  impassioned  appeal  are  used  with  rich 
variety,  but  with  skilful  restraint,  while  the  one  aim 
and  purpose  has  never  for  an  instant  been  lost  sight 
of.  It  is  a  Sermon  on  human  character  in  relation 
to  God  and  life.  To  be  possessed  of  a  truly  noble 
character  is  to  have  happiness,  and  to  make  this 
character  felt  in  the  world  is  to  promote  the  moral 
health  and  happiness  of  mankind  (ch.  v.  I— 17). 
But  a  truly  noble  character  must  have  nobility  in  its 
very  roots,  and  in  its  unseen,  inward  processes  :  its 
throne  as  well  as  its  sceptre  must  be  pure  (ch.  v. 
18-32).  It  must  be  self-restrained,  calm,  patient, 
affectionate,  and  compassionate  (ch.  v.  33-47).  In 
one  word,  it  must  be  godlike  (ch.  v.  48).  It  must 
be  above  the  littleness  of  vulgar  ostentation  ;  it  must 
be  simple,  natural,  and  trustful  in  its  piety  (ch.  \  i. 
1-18).  It  must  be  single-minded  (ch.  vi.  19-24). 
It  must  realise  the  bounty  and  wisdom,  the  glorious 
and  magnanimous  love  which  surrounds  life  (ch.  1  i. 
25—34).  It  must  be  tolerant  and  charitable,  hard  to 
71 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

self  and  large-hearted  to  the  world,  making  allow- 
ances for  others  (ch.  vii.  1-6).  It  must  be  ready 
for  the  conflict,  reliant  on  God  (ch.  vii.  7-12),  not 
afraid  of  difficulty  and  hardship,  strenuously 
honest,  wholly  real.  Its  stability  will  be  proved  in 
trial.  In  the  experience  of  life  many  characters 
degenerate,  lose  their  force,  and  have  their  integrity 
undermined.  The  noble  character  proves  itself  in 
endurance.  It  is  unterrified  and  unseduced.  When 
others  give  way  before  the  storm  or  the  snares  of 
the  world,  it  holds  fast  its  integrity.  It  stands  like 
a  tower,  four-square  to  all  the  winds  that  blow.  It 
is  founded  on  a  rock  (ch.  vii.  24-27).  It  is  a 
strong,  noble,  human  character — most  noble  in  that 
it  is  patient,  unselfish,  gentle  and  loving.  It  is 
strong,  because,  being  aware  of  its  weakness,  it  is 
made  divinely  strong  by  divine  help  (ch.  vi.  9-14; 
ch.  vii.  7-12).  It  is  stable,  for  though  it  is  human, 
it  humbly  and  trustfully  reckons  that  God  is  its 
Father.  It  has  a  filial  spirit,  for  it  realises  that  a 
son  is  dependent  on  the  Father.  It  has  a  filial  spirit 
also  in  this,  that  it  strives  to  realise  the  Father's 
character  in  itself,  and  reckons  that  it  is  its  noblest 
privilege  and  joy  to  live  this  life  as  a  son  of  God. 

We   easily  perceive  the  spirit  of  a  great  moral 
charter  in  teaching  like  this.    After  a  fashion — lofty, 
complete,  unique — Christ  proclaimed  that  God  was 
72 


THE  ARGUMENT  OF  THE  SERMON 

the  Father  of  all.  He  was  not  merely  like  a  Father  : 
He  was  a  true  Father  of  man  and  of  men,  of  the  in- 
dividual and  of  the  race.  His  fatherhood  was  not 
merely  the  fatherhood  of  power  and  of  dignity.  It 
was  the  fatherhood  of  real  relationship,  of  care, 
guidance,  discipline,  education,  of  tireless  love,  and 
of  a  changeless  loving  purpose.  It  went  beyond  a 
fatherhood  of  mere  providence.  It  involved  more 
than  the  care  which  gave  the  sunshine  and  the  rain. 
It  was  a  fatherhood  which  meant  a  real,  definite, 
moral  purpose  towards  men.  That  purpose  was 
their  education :  it  was  the  discipline  and  training 
which  corrected  their  weaknesses,  evoked  their 
trust,  and  stimulated  their  ambition.  It  set  before 
them  a  goal  loftier  and  more  spiritual  than  men  had 
dreamed  of.  That  goal  was,  to  grow  like  to  Him 
who  was  their  Father.  The  goal  was  character. 
In  that  lay  the  true  stability  and  happiness  of  life. 
Only  when  man  could  wake  in  God's  likeness,  could 
completeness  and  satisfaction  of  life  be  realised  (Ps. 
xvii.  15). 


73 


THE   FIRST   STEP   TOWARDS   HAPPINESS 


St.  Matt.  v.  3 
Blessed  are  the  poor  in  spirit. 


THE  FIRST  STEP  TOWARDS  HAPPINESS 

T)LESSED  are  the  poor  in  spirit;  for  theirs  is 
■*-*  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  Such  is,  according 
to  St.  Matthew,  the  first  beatitude.  St.  Luke  gives 
his  blessing  in  a  less  qualified  form.  Blessed  be  ye 
poor  (Luke  vi.  20).  In  this,  it  has  been  said,  we 
have  a  frank  and  bold  commendation  of  poverty  as 
such.  The  poor  man  is  happier  than  the  rich  man. 
The  very  lack  of  the  good  things  of  life  consti- 
tutes happiness.  Such  in  the  view  of  some  is  the 
meaning  of  the  beatitude  as  given  by  St.  Luke. 
Antagonists  of  Christianity  have  maintained  this 
meaning,  because  they  found  in  it  as  they  imagined 
a  weapon  against  the  faith.  They  wished  to  show 
that  Christianity  had  no  true  sympathy  with  the 
struggling  classes;  and  they  pointed  to  this  beati- 
tude and  said,  "  See  how  Christianity  seeks  to  keep 
you  in  an  ignominious  contentment  by  telling  you 
that  you  are  happier  without  wealth  and  comfort. 
Religion  seeks  to  make  you  tame  and  acquiescent 
77 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

in  your  miseries  by  promising  you  great  things  in 
an  unknown  and  future  state.  It  plays  into  the 
hands  of  the  prosperous,  who  wish  you  to  forego 
enjoyment  here  and  now,  in  the  hope  of  shadowy 
joys  in  a  shadowy  kingdom.  In  order  to  keep  you 
from  disturbing  the  possessions  which  they  enjoy 
in  this  world,  they  promise  you  possessions  in  a 
realm  they  little  believe  in,  seeing  that  they  do  not 
willingly  encounter  the  poverty  which,  in  their 
theory,  is  necessary  to  win  it." 

i.  There  is  no  reason  in  support  of  this  view. 
But  before  we  condemn  it  as  a  forced  and  false 
gloss  upon  the  words  of  Christ,  we  may  well  ask 
whether  there"  is  not  some  excuse  for  it.  The 
dominion  of  Christianity  in  the  world  for  many 
centuries  has  been  great  and  wide.  The  hopes  of 
a  golden  age  which  the  supremacy  of  Christianity 
would  bring  have  been  doomed  to  disappointment. 
The  struggling  classes  have  not  found  themselves 
transported  to  a  realm  of  cloudless  skies.  In 
sorrow  and  disappointment  they  have  seen  that 
Christianity  was  the  creed  of  the  ruling  classes. 
They  have  seen  more;  they  have  often  seen  that 
in  the  mechanism  of  society,  religion  was  regarded 
as  a  power  on  the  side  of  privilege.  They  heard 
a  gospel  which  declared  that  there  was  a  sort  of 
divine  appointment  in  things  as  they  were.  They 
78 


THE  FIRST  STEP  TOWARDS  HAPPINESS 

heard  sermons  on  texts,  which  seemed  to  mean 
that  all  effort  after  improvement  was  profane. 
They  began  to  identify  the  creed  of  Christendom 
with  the  customs  of  society.  They  accepted  the 
interpretation  of  religion  which  the  well-to-do 
classes  practically  adopted.  They  took  their  view 
of  Christianity  from  the  lives  and  habits  of  those 
who  professed  and  called  themselves  Christians. 
Can  we  wonder  at  it  ?  Can  we  wonder  that  a  mis- 
interpretation, sanctioned  by  the  habit  of  Christen- 
dom, should  be  accepted  as  the  real  meaning  of 
Christ's  words  by  those  who  felt  that  fashionable 
creed  and  fashionable  custom  alike  were  against 
them  ?  We  have  here  only  another  instance  of 
what  Christianity  has  suffered  at  the  hands  of 
Christians. 

But  no  excuse  or  explanation  of  a  false  inter- 
pretation can  justify  our  accepting  it.  Even  sup- 
posing that  the  words  of  our  Lord  were,  as  St. 
Luke  gives  them,  well-nigh  unqualified  words,  and 
that  He  indeed  said,  "  Blessed  are  the  poor,"  there 
is  no  ground  for  declaring  Him  to  have  been  void 
of  sympathy  with  poverty  or  to  have  used  the 
words  to  soothe  the  unfortunate  and  indigent  into 
convenient  contentment.  It  cannot  escape  the 
reader  of  St.  Luke's  version  of  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount  that  there  are  woes  joined  with  the  blcss- 
79 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

ings,  and  that  the  same  voice  which  says,  "  Blessed 
are  the  poor,"  says  also,  "Woe  unto  you  that  are 
rich ;  for  ye  have  received  your  consolation." 
Surely  it  is  unreasonable  to  construe  such  utter- 
ances as  these  into  a  kind  of  protective  apology  for 
the  wealthy  classes.  The  words  sound  more  like 
the  vehement  language  of  the  indignant  St.  James, 
who  saw  the  oppression  of  the  poor,  the  indifference 
and  the  dishonest  heedlessness  of  the  rich,  and 
wrote,  "  Go  to  now,  ye  rich  men,  weep  and  howl 
for  your  miseries  that  shall  come  upon  you " 
(James  v.  i). 

ii.  Are  we  then  to  interpret  the  words  as  an 
attack  upon  the  rich  ?  Are  we  to  believe  that  our 
Lord  declared  simply  and  in  unqualified  fashion  the 
superiority  of  poverty  as  such  over  riches  as  such  ? 
Views  of  this  kind  have  been  held  by  many  teachers 
at  different  epochs  of  history.  For  example,  in  the 
time  of  our  Lord,  the  Ebionite  taught  the  advantages 
of  poverty.  Did  our  Lord  adopt  this  Ebionite  con- 
ception ? 

Those  who  have  caught  the  spirit  of  Christ's 
teaching  will  hardly  believe  this.  In  our  Lord's 
view,  outward  circumstances  were  as  nothing  com- 
pared with  inward  dispositions.  The  Son  of  the 
heavenly  Father  accepted  the  Father's  will  and 
providence.  Whatever  was  His  lot,  whatever  hard 
So 


THE  FIRST  STEP  TOWARDS  HAPPINESS 

or  happy  experiences  were  His,  there  was  something 
to  be  gained  from  all.  Inward  strength  increased  in 
the  use  of  all  life's  experiences.  But  for  this  pur- 
pose, the  soul  must  carry  itself  in  equal  indifference 
towards  the  wealth  and  poverty  of  life.  The  realisa- 
tion of  the  kingdom  within  made  the  external  con- 
ditions of  life  entirely  subordinate.  They  were 
matters  in  which  choice  had  no  place.  The  only 
choice  of  the  soul  was  the  doing  the  Father's  will. 
The  conditions  under  which  that  will  was  to  be  done 
were  left  in  the  Father's  hands. 

The  self-chosen  poverty  of  the  Ebionite  was 
inconsistent  with  this  teaching ;  for,  in  the  Ebionite 
view,  poverty  itself  brought  sanctification.  In  our 
Lord's  view  outward  circumstances  were  powerless 
of  themselves  to  produce  inward  holiness.  When 
the  inward  disposition  was  that  of  the  child,  outward 
circumstances,  whether  they  brought  straitness  or 
affluence,  would  be  made  means  of  increased  strength 
of  soul.  In  the  language  of  St.  Paul,  "All  things 
work  together  for  good  to  them  that  love  God " 
(Rom.  viii.  28). 

We  may  take  it  then  that  our  Lord  taught  that 
there  was  no  magical  virtue  either  in  poverty  or 
riches.  As  in  the  hands  of  Apollo  all  instruments 
were  alike,  so  in  the  heavenly  Father's  hands  all 
circumstances  of  life  would  make  music  in  the 
81  w 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

Both  riches  and  poverty  brought  temptation,  but  the 
power  to  encounter  temptation  came  from  God. 
Victory  over  temptation  is  not  found  in  change  of 
circumstance,  but  in  spirituality  of  heart. 

The  followers  of  Christ  did  part  with  their  pos- 
sessions. Rich  men  abandoned  their  wealth  for  the 
kingdom  of  heaven's  sake;  but  among  those  who 
have  done  so,  they  only  did  it  rightly  who  forsook 
their  wealth  because  of  the  greater  love  which 
possessed  their  heart.  The  spiritual  disposition  was 
there.  The  love  of  Christ  constrained  them.  They 
thought  not  of  their  merit  or  of  their  gain.  They 
had  no  weak  views  of  the  abstract  superiority  of 
indigence.  They  had  no  belief  in  the  magic  of 
altered  circumstances.  They  were  not  materialists 
enough  to  believe  that  aversion  to  spiritual  things 
could  be  transformed  into  love  by  a  change  of 
material  conditions.  They  were  moved  by  a  larger 
love,  which  esteemed  earthly  gain  but  loss  for  the 
excellency  of  the  things  of  God.  Their  renunciation 
of  riches  was  the  consequence,  it  could  not  be  the 
cause,  of  their  faith  and  love. 

in.  But  the  difference  between  St.  Matthew  and 
St.  Luke  remains.  How  are  we  to  explain  it  ?  St. 
Luke  says  simply,  "  Blessed  be  ye  poor."  St. 
Matthew  says,  "  Blessed  are  the  poor  in  spirit." 
Are  we  to  see  in  St.  Luke's  version  the  influence  of 


THE  FIRST  STEP  TOWARDS  HAPPINESS 

Ebionite  feeling?  In  other  words,  are  we  to  suppose 
that  though  our  Lord  did  not  adopt  the  Ebionite 
position,  St.  Luke,  being  himself  tainted  with  their 
views,  gave  an  Ebionite  turn  to  this  beatitude  ?  To 
give  consistency  and  force  to  this  view,  it  would  be 
necessary  to  show  that  a  distinct  Ebionite  tone  was 
manifested,  not  in  a  doubtfully  interpreted  sentence 
here  and  there,  but  throughout  the  whole  of  St. 
Luke's  Gospel.  That  is,  it  would  be  needful  to  show 
that,  according  to  St.  Luke,  our  Lord  taught,  not  the 
indifference  of  wealth  or  poverty,  but  the  positive 
evil  of  one,  and  the  positive  good  of  the  other.  In 
short,  it  would  be  necessary  to  prove  that  on  this 
point  there  was  a  deep  and  radical  difference  of 
principle  between  St.  Matthew  and  St.  Luke.  It 
may  be  true  that  each  evangelist  writes  his  story 
from  his  own  view-point.  His  own  personal  char- 
acter and  special  interest  combined  to  give  shape  to 
his  manner  of  telling  his  story.  But  even  this  aspect 
of  the  matter  may  be  given  an  exaggerated  import- 
ance, and  fancy  may  attribute  to  its  influence  more 
than  in  the  circumstances  of  the  case  was  likely. 
Yet  even  when  we  allow  much  for  the  influence  of 
individual  character,  it  seems  unlikely  that  the  evan- 
gelist would  venture  on  a  strong  and  decided  perver- 
sion of  the  very  principles  laid  down  by  our  Lord. 
This  is  a  question   which  the   ordinary   reader   is 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

almost  as  competent  to  decide  as  the  learned  critic, 
for  it  is  a  question,  not  of  the  exact  and  erudite 
interpretation  of  difficult  passages,  but  of  the  general 
tone  and  tenor  of  the  Gospel  of  St.  Luke.  In  St. 
Luke  we  meet  with  teaching  which  speaks  of  the 
snares  of  wealth,  and  the  dangerous  tyranny  which 
riches  may  get  over  the  heart  of  man.  Our  Lord  is 
represented  as  saying,  "  How  hardly  shall  they  that 
have  riches  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God  "  (ch. 
xviii.  24).  He  speaks  the  parables  of  the  Rich  Fool 
(ch.  xii.  16-21)  and  of  Dives  and  Lazarus  (ch.  xvi. 
19-31).  But  the  warnings  against  the  deceitfulness 
of  riches  are- equally  clear  in  St.  Matthew  (ch.  vi.  19 ; 
xiii.  22  ;  xvi.  24-26 ;  xix.  23) ;  and  the  passages  in 
St.  Luke  are,  like  those  in  St.  Matthew,  directed 
against  the  love  of  riches,  rather  than  against  the 
possessors  of  riches  ;  against  those  who  have  allowed 
themselves  to  be  vulgarised,  morally  degraded,  and 
heart-hardened  by  wealth,  and  not  against  the 
wickedness  of  riches  as  riches.  The  teaching  in  fact 
is  spiritual,  not  material,  in  both  Gospels.  The  evil 
of  the  world  is  not  in  the  possession  of  more  or  less 
of  its  material  produce  or  advantages ;  the  evil  lies 
in  the  soul  which  suffers  these  things  to  carry  it 
away  captive,  which  becomes  the  slave,  instead  of 
being  the  master  of  earthly  things.  The  tenor  of 
both  Gospels  seems  tc  me  to  be  the  same  on  this 
84 


THE  FIRST  STEP  TOWARDS  HAPPINESS 

subject.  There  is  none  of  that  popular  confusion  of 
thought  between  the  man  and  his  circumstances. 
There  is  no  suggestion  of  the  theory  that  because  a 
man  is  poor  he  must  be  good,  and  because  a  man  is 
rich  he  must  be  bad ;  or,  vice  versa,  because  he  is 
rich  he  must  be  good,  and  because  he  is  poor  he  is 
sure  to  be  bad,  which  is  so  popular  among  thought- 
less or  unspiritual  minds.  A  rich  man  needs  much 
grace.  That  is  true ;  and  so  our  Lord  teaches  that 
the  things  which  are  impossible  with  men  are 
possible  with  God  (St.  Matt.  xix.  26  and  St.  Luke 
xviii.  27).  The  power  of  the  divine  love  would  be 
able  to  show  itself  in  giving  victory  over  self  to  rich 
and  to  poor,  teaching  the  rich  man  not  to  trust  in 
uncertain  riches  (1  Tim.  vi.  17),  enabling  the  brother 
of  low  degree  to  rejoice  in  that  he  is  exalted,  and 
the  rich  in  that  he  is  made  low  (James  i.  9,  10). 

It  is  with  the  remembrance  of  this  general  tenor 
of  teaching  which  pervades  St.  Luke's  Gospel  that 
we  must  approach  the  beatitude.  M  Blessed  be  ye 
poor."  He  does  not  say,  "  Blessed  are  the  poor/'  as 
though  mere  poverty  were  a  blessing,  for  poverty, 
like  wealth,  brings  sore  temptations  and  much  pain- 
fulness  of  which  wealth  knows  nothing.  Poverty 
may  become  a  means  of  blessing,  no  doubt ;  but  this 
is  very  different  from  saying  that  it  is  a  good  in 
Itself.  It  is  only  a  good,  and  a  means  of  good,  to 
85 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

those  who  have  reached  that  condition  of  soul  in 
which  the  supremacy  of  spiritual  things  is  so  great 
that  worldly  conditions  are  of  comparatively  little 
moment.  Only  those  who  view  earth  from  the 
threshold  of  heaven  are  able  to  derive  from  either 
riches  or  poverty  their  powers  of  spiritual  helpful- 
ness. Therefore,  our  Lord  does  not  say,  "  Blessed 
are  the  poor."  But  rather,  speaking  to  His  disciples 
whose  dispositions  He  knew,  He  spoke  these  words, 
for  we  read,  "  He  lifted  up  His  eyes  on  His  disciples 
and  said,  Blessed  be  ye  poor ;  for  yours  is  the 
kingdom  of  heaven."  It  is  not  every  poor  man  who 
is  blessed  in  his  poverty,  though  all  everywhere  may 
find  in  their  circumstances  a  blessing.  It  is  the  poor 
man  who  has  risen  above  his  poverty,  who  knows 
that  a  man's  life  does  not  consist  in  the  abundance 
of  the  things  that  he  possesses,  who  realises  that  the 
life  is  more  than  meat,  it  is  such  a  poor  man  who 
can  find  the  blessing  in  poverty.  The  disciples, 
most  of  them  poor  in  circumstances,  were  yet  blessed, 
because  they  were  already  those  who  were,  to  use 
St  Matthew's  language — poor  in  spirit. 

iv.  Blessed  are  the  poor  in  spirit ;  for  theirs  is  the 
kingdom  of  heaven.  But  who  are  the  poor  in  spirit  ? 
What  is  meant  by  this  being  poor  in  spirit  ?  Does 
Jesus  Christ  counsel  His  disciples  to  be  feeble, 
shrinking,  timid  beings  ?  Is  poor  in  spirit  the  same 
86 


THE  FIRST  STEP  TOWARDS  HAPPINESS 

as  poor-spirited  ?  It  ought  to  be  needless  to  answer 
this  question  ;  but  unfortunately  there  are  people  in 
the  world  who  have  a  genius  for  misinterpretation, 
and  there  are  many  besides  whose  minds  are  of  a 
slatternly  order,  and  who  snatch  up  words  without 
any  effort  at  discrimination.  Such  people  can  mis- 
understand anything,  because  there  is  very  little 
which  they  do  understand. 

There  is  no  approval  of  poor-spirited  characters 
here.  The  simplest  way  to  grasp  its  meaning  is 
perhaps  to  consider  its  opposite — i.e.,  the  moral 
distortion  of  being  lifted  up  in  spirit.  This  uplifted 
spirit  is  the  spirit  of  self-exaltation  which  filled 
the  heart  of  Nebuchadnezzar  when  he  contemplated 
the  glories  of  the  great  Babylon  which  he  had  built. 
This  is  the  self-satisfied  spirit  of  those  whose  hearts 
are  as  fat  as  brawn,  who  call  their  lands  after  their 
own  names,  and  look  at  everything  through  the 
medium  of  their  own  self-importance.  For  such 
the  world  has  no  significance  except  as  it  affects 
their  interest  or  their  convenience.  This  is  the 
radical  spirit  of  worldliness ;  for  it  is  the  spirit 
which  makes  self  the  centre  of  everything.  This 
spirit  is  the  seed  ground  of  sin.  All  kinds  of 
wrong  become  possible  to  the  man  who  makes  his 
own  pleasure  or  aggrandisement  the  supreme  rule 
of  his  life.  Conscience  has  little  place  in  the  heart 
87 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

of  the  man  who  makes  self  the  axis  of  reference 
in  all  his  conduct.  This  inflated  egotism  is  flat 
against  the  order  of  the  universe,  and  essentially 
hostile  to  the  kingdom  of  God.  It  is  in  one  sense 
the  starting-place  of  evil ;  it  is  in  another  sense  its 
climax.  Egotism  in  moral  life  is  the  cause  of  most 
of  the  heedlessness  and  sinfulness  of  the  world ; 
and  yet,  it  is  only  after  a  prolonged  indulgence  of 
selfishness  that  the  humane  and  kindly  instincts  of 
nature  are  destroyed.  The  evil  principle  of  self 
works  till  all  the  finer,  better,  and  purer  feelings  and 
aspirations  are  brought  to  naught.  It  stands  out 
then  as  the  naked  antagonist  of  all  that  is  good. 

The  divine  kingdom  is  covered  by  the  very 
opposite  principle.  "  I,  yet  not  I "  is  its  motto. 
We  exist  not  for  ourselves.  There  is  no  over- 
mastering egotism,  no  proud  isolation,  no  self- 
exaltation  or  self-seeking  in  the  spiritual  kingdom. 
The  poor  in  spirit  have  nothing  of  their  own ;  they 
are  emptied  of  self ;  they  are  dead  to  self. 

"None  of  us  liveth  to  himself"  is  the  language  of 
all  things  which  follow  the  order  of  God.  This  being 
so,  they  only  find  themselves  in  others.  They  find 
their  life  in  losing  it.  They  find  love  in  giving  it. 
They  find  themselves  in  not  thinking  of  themselves. 
He  who  does  not  think  of  self  is  poor  in  spirit.  The 
poor  man  is  the  man  who  has  nothing  of  his  own. 


THE  FIRST  STEP  TOWARDS  HAPPINESS 

The  poor  in  spirit  is  the  man  who  has  nothing  of  his 
own,  no  self-seeking  in  his  motives  and  fancies.  This 
spirit  is  well  exemplified  in  John  the  Baptist.  When 
men  came  asking  him,  "  Who  art  thou  ? "  he  ac- 
knowledged nothing  about  himself;  he  had  no  de- 
scription to  give  of  himself ;  he  claimed  no  name  among 
men ;  he  did  not  call  himself,  "  Elias,"  or  "  that 
prophet;  "  he  sought  to  be  the  voice  of  God,  and  that 
voice  only  (John  i.  19-23).  He,  who  was  ready  to 
decrease  that  the  true  messenger  of  God  might  in- 
crease, was  content  to  be  nothing  in  the  world,  if 
he  might  only  pass  on  God's  message  to  men. 

We  can  understand  the  happiness  of  this  attitude. 
The  man  is  absorbed  in  the  work — the  God-given 
work — before  him.  He  has  no  leisure  to  pause  and 
ask  what  the  world  thinks  of  him.  There  is  a  real 
work  to  do,  and  he  is  alive  to  its  importance  and  to 
the  necessity  of  turning  his  whole  energy  into  it. 
The  work  has  to  be  done ;  the  trust  must  be  dis- 
charged ;  the  criticisms  of  the  world,  whether  favour- 
able or  unfavourable,  are  of  little  moment.  Egotism 
has  so  small  a  place  in  his  spirit  that  he  is  neither 
uplifted  nor  depressed  by  the  words  of  men's  lips. 
I  lis  soul  is  set  on  other  things.  He  seeks  the  king- 
dom of  God,  and  no  kingdom  of  self — and  it  is  in 
the  emancipation  of  self  from  self  that  he  finds  that 
divine  kingdom.  I  Ic  1<>  cs  himself  to  find  himself. 
89 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

He  is  nothing  in  his  own  sight,  but  for  this 
reason  the  kingdom  of  God  is  his.  He  who  grasps 
for  self  ends  by  grasping  nothing  but  self;  he  who 
grasps  only  at  right,  grasping  nothing  for  self,  finds 
the  kingdom  of  God  within  his  grasp.  He  who 
lives  as  having  nothing  is  the  one  who  possesses 
all  things.  It  is  to  the  poor  in  spirit  that  the  bless- 
ing of  the  truest  possession  comes.  Theirs  is  the 
kingdom  of  God,  says  Jesus  Christ.  "All  things 
are  yours,"  writes  St.  Paul.  The  two  thoughts 
run  parallel.  The  possession  of  all  things  belongs 
only  to  him  who  understands  what  true  possession 
means.  "  It  is  mine  "  in  the  language  of  the  world 
means  this  thing  belongs  to  me  and  to  none  else. 
"  It  is  mine "  in  the  language  of  truth  means  "  I 
draw  from  this  thing  the  good  which  it  is  capable 
of  imparting."  The  book  is  the  property  of  the 
man  who  buys  it.  It  is  the  possession  of  the  man 
who  masters  it.  The  force,  the  power,  the  know- 
ledge, the  virtue  of  things  cannot  be  said  to  belong 
to  him  who  has  rights  over  them  which  he  has 
never  exercised.  They  belong  to  him  who  derives 
benefit  from  them.  They  belong  to  him  into  whose 
nature  they  have  transmitted  their  life-power.  They 
belong  not  so  much  to  him  who  owns  them,  as  to 
him  who  has  made  them  his  own.  Now  the  first 
condition  of  achieving  this  is  the  getting  rid  of  all 
90 


THE  FIRST  STEP  TOWARDS  HAPPINESS 

egotism  and  self-caused  prejudice.  "To  unlearn 
what  was  naught  "  was,  according  to  the  old  philo- 
sopher, one  great  part  of  his  life-work.  The  ap- 
proach to  work  or  study  must  be  with  a  free  mind. 
Preoccupation,  like  prejudice,  is  a  hindrance  to 
knowledge.  The  ceasing  from  self  is  as  needful  in 
the  pursuit  of  knowledge  as  it  is  in  the  order  of 
religion.  The  mind  filled  with  prejudice,  vitiated 
by  preconceptions  of  which  it  is  too  indolent  to  get 
rid,  or  inflated  with  conceit,  will  make  little  pro- 
gress m  understanding  the  facts  of  life.  History 
teems  with  examples  which  teach  us  that  candour 
of  mind  is  rare,  and  that  the  tumultuous  prejudices 
of  mankind  have  postponed  the  advance  of  science 
and  useful  arts.  The  kingdom  of  knowledge 
belongs  to  the  man  of  open  mind.  The  single  eye 
perceives  what  the  double-minded  man  will  never 
understand.  Similarly,  to  the  poor  in  spirit — to 
those  whose  souls  are  clear  of  the  egotism  of  pride, 
indolence,  self-sufficiency,  self-indulgence — belongs 
the  kingdom  of  God.  God's  kingdom  is  open  to 
their  eyes.  The  truth  of  that  kingdom  is  theirs. 
To  them  it  is  a  deep  and  unquestioned  reality. 
They  live  in  it.  They  feel  that  its  order  is  round 
about  their  life.  It  enters  into  their  thoughts.  It 
governs  their  actions.  It  inspires  their  hearts. 
Two  thoughts  arise  here  :  (i.)  One  is  that  the 
91 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CtiRlST 

initial  qualification  of  spiritual  blessedness,  accord- 
ing to  our  Lord,  is  the  emptying  of  self.  His  first 
benediction  is  for  the  poor  in  spirit.  Are  we  sur- 
prised at  this  ?  We  shall  hardly  be  when  we 
remember  that  self  lies  at  the  root  of  sin.  The 
tendency  of  self  is  to  separate  from  the  order  of 
creation.  It  seeks  to  set  up  its  own  throne.  It 
hearkens  to  the  seductive  promise,  "  Ye  shall  be  as 
gods."  It  fondly  believes  that  it  can  escape  from 
the  conditions  of  existence.  It  would  find  immunity 
from  the  pains  and  laws  which  visit  other  men.  Its 
dream  is  to  escape  from  its  position  as  God's 
creature.  It  would  fain  be  other  than  man  ;  for  its 
idea  of  greatness  is  to  rise  above  its  manhood. 
Here  perverse  wishes  are  accompanied  by  false 
thoughts.  Perverse  wishes  show  themselves  in  the 
desire  to  evade  the  laws  of  life  which  God  has  made. 
False  thoughts  are  seen  in  the  idea  that  there  is 
greatness  or  dignity  in  doing  so  ;  for  it  is  a  mistake 
to  suppose  that  greatness  can  be  found  in  trans- 
cending our  manhood.  True  greatness  consists  in 
fulfilling  it,  and  the  first  step  towards  this  greatness 
is  the  recognition  of  the  wisdom  of  God.  The  fear 
or  reverence  of  the  Lord  is  the  beginning  of  wisdom, 
said  the  wise  man.  This  reverence  will  hardly  be 
wise  in  its  own  conceit.  It  is  content  to  find  wisdom 
in  believing  in  the  divine  wisdom.  The  thought  of 
92 


THE  FIRST  STEP  TOWARDS  HAPPINESS 

the  wise  man  corresponds  with  the  teaching  of  our 
Lord.  The  first  step  towards  wisdom,  like  the  first 
step  towards  happiness,  is  reverence  for  the  divine 
order.  To  rule  we  must  obey  nature's  powers. 
We  must  sit  as  docile  pupils  at  the  feet  of  God's 
universe  and  try  to  understand.  Such  is  the  first 
step  towards  wisdom,  and  the  first  step  towards 
happiness  is  like  to  it.  We  must  cease  from  self; 
we  must  learn  self-dissatisfaction;  we  must  be  alive 
to  our  need,  we  must  be  self-emptied,  poor  in  spirit. 
This  step,  which  Christ  points  out  as  the  first  step 
on  the  pathway  of  happiness,  is  a  step  which  He 
did  not  merely  put  before  us  as  a  command.  He 
showed  us  the  way  by  treading  Himself  that  path- 
way of  self-surrender.  He  showed  us  that  human 
greatness  was  found  in  fulfilling  our  manhood,  not 
in  seeking  to  transcend  it.  He  showed  us  that  the 
way  towards  that  fulfilment  lay  in  the  reverent  and 
trustful  acceptance  of  the  divine  will.  The  tempter 
suggested  that  He  might  escape  privation  by  exer- 
cising more  than  human  power  (Matt.  iv.  3),  that 
He  might  set  at  naught  the  conditions  of  human 
existence  and  rely  on  heaven-sent  help  (Matt.  iv.  6). 
But  He  showed  that  His  life  was  to  find  its  fulfil- 
ment in  doing  the  Father's  will  as  Son  of  Man,  and 
not  in  any  ostentatious  disregard  of  the  order  of  life. 
He  showed  us  thus  the  way  of  life.  He  made  Him- 
93 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

self  of  no  reputation.  He  became  obedient  to  law 
for  man.  He  lived  the  life  of  man  with  the  spirit  of 
a  child  of  God ;  and  He  opened  to  us  the  kingdom 
of  heaven  when  He  said,  u  Except  ye  be  converted 
and  become  as  little  children,  ye  shall  not  enter  into 
the  kingdom  of  heaven  (Matt,  xviii.  3).  Blessed  are 
the  poor  in  spirit ;  for  theirs  is  the  kingdom  of 
heaven. " 

(ii.)  The  second  thought  is  this,  that  the  blessings 
which  Christ  pronounces  are  not  arbitrary  blessings. 
When  He  says  of  the  poor  in  spirit  that  theirs  is  the 
kingdom  of  God,  He  states  what  is  in  harmony  with 
a  natural  order.  The  reward  is  not  a  capricious 
one.  The  reward  is  as  a  flower  which  rises  from  its 
root.  The  benediction  springs  out  of  the  disposi- 
tion. The  kingdom  of  God  does  belong  to  the 
poor  in  spirit,  and  only  the  poor  in  spirit  can  pos- 
sess it.  There  is  sequence  in  the  thought ;  there  is 
a  connection  between  the  condition  and  the  bless- 
ing. We  have  suggested  this  thought  already. 
The  kingdom  of  God  does  open  upon  the  soul  that 
is  free  from  self.  The  unselfish,  childlike  spirit  finds 
everywhere  around  him  the  realm  of  the  heavenly 
Father. 

A  similar  harmonious  sequence  is    found    in   all 
the  beatitudes.     We  are  introduced  to  a  kingdom, 
but  it  is  a  kingdom  in  which  spiritual  laws  prevail. 
94 


THE  FIRST  STEP  TOWARDS  HAPPINESS 

The  consolations  of  the  soul  of  man  arise  out  of  the 
conditions  of  his  soul.  There  is  no  heaven  for  un- 
heavenly  minds.  The  earthly  mind  may  find  the 
earthly  reward  and  the  worldly  advantage.  "  They 
have  their  reward,"  our  Lord  said  of  the  self-con- 
scious pietists  of  His  day.  For  the  better  reward 
there  must  be  the  better  disposition;  for  the 
heavenly  beatitude  there  must  be  the  heavenly 
spirit.  We  see  at  once  how  all  this  turns  the  soul 
away  from  the  baser  gains  and  material  advantages 
of  life.  The  reward  is  spiritual.  It  is  in  the  soul, 
and  it  is  for  the  souls  which  are  spiritual.  If  a  man 
finds  no  attraction  in  the  thought  of  an  improved 
character,  in  spiritual  progress,  in  a  growing  resem- 
blance to  God,  there  is  for  such  a  man  no  heaven. 
To  be  carnally  minded  is  death  ;  to  be  spiritually 
minded  is  life  and  peace  (Rom.  viii.  6). 

Here  we  may  reflect.  We  desire  heaven.  Yes ; 
in  moments  of  great  peril  or  supreme  excitement,  or 
vivid  realisation  of  that  other  world,  we  keenly 
desire  heaven.  At  other  times,  we  accept  it  as  a 
sort  of  idle  truism  that  all  men  hope  for  heaven. 
But  do  we  desire  heaven  ?  Do  we  desire  to  be 
more  full  of  goodness?  Do  we  long  to  be  just 
better  men  and  better  women — more  pure-minded, 
more  simply  honest,  more  kind  and  gracious,  more 
replete  with  the  spirit  of  self-denial,  more  moved  to 
95 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

a  life  whose  motive  is  simple  love  ?  Then,  but  then 
only  do  we  desire  heaven,  for  to  be  such  is  to  be  in 
heaven  ;  or  rather  to  be  such  is  to  have  reached 
that  disposition  which  alone  can  perceive,  live  in, 
and  rejoice  in  heaven.  Other  wishes — vague,  self- 
ish, indolent  wishes,  for  a  vacant  happiness  which 
means  immunity  from  certain  inconvenient  and 
painful  conditions — are  not  wishes  for  heaven,  but 
for  something  else  which  probably  is  not  heaven  at 
all. 

And  this  reflection  may  well  bring  us  back  to  the 
earliest  stage  of  conscious,  religious  life,  even  to 
Christ's  first  beatitude.  Blessed  indeed  are  those 
whose  desires  are  free  from  impurity  and  misuse, 
who  are  poor  in  spirit,  who  have  nothing  of  self  in 
their  thoughts.  Blessed  are  they  who  can  be  as 
little  children.  Is  the  blessing  far  away  out  of  our 
reach  ?  Can  we  not  become  as  little  children,  or 
has  the  world  been  too  much  with  us  ?  Has  selfish- 
ness laid  its  strong  hands  upon  us  ?  Have  we 
grown  harder,  more  quick  at  over-passing  our  own 
desires,  less  scrupulous  as  to  the  method  of  attain- 
ing them  ?  Is  unselfishness  of  spirit  impossible  to 
us  ?  Is  the  blessing  out  of  our  reach  ?  Is  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  never  to  be  ours  ?  Never  till 
the  self  disappears;  never  till  the  child-heart  comes; 
never  till  we  wish  the  wish  and  think  the  thought  of 
96 


THE  FIRST  STEP  TOWARDS  HAPPINESS 

God.  Never  ?  Impossible  then  to  the  old  and 
hardened  ?  Impossible  !  There  is  no  irrevocable- 
ness  with  God.  With  Him  all  things  are  possible. 
To  plunge  into  the  river  of  His  love  is  to  get  again 
the  heart  of  a  little  child. 


y7 


EVERY   SEVERAL   GATE   WAS   OF 
ONE  PEARL 


St.  Matt.  v.  3-12 

Blessed  are  the  poor  in  spirit :  for  their's  is  the  kingdom  of 
heaven. 

Blessed  are  they  that  mourn  ;  for  they  shall  be  comforted. 

Blessed  are  the  meek  :  for  they  shall  inherit  the  earth. 

Blessed  are  they  which  do  hunger  and  thirst  after  righteousness  : 
for  they  shall  be  filled. 

Blessed  are  the  merciful  :  for  they  shall  obtain  mercy. 

Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart :  for  they  shall  see  God. 

Blessed  are  the  peacemakers  ;  for  they  shall  be  called  the  chil- 
dren of  God.- 

Blessed  are  they  which  are  persecuted  for  righteousness'  sake  : 
for  their's  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 

Blessed  are  ye,  when  men  shall  revile  you,  and  persecute  you,  and 
shall  say  all  manner  of  evil  against  you  falsely,  for  my  sake. 

Rejoice,  and  be  exceeding  glad  :  for  great  is  your  reward  in 
heaven  :  for  so  persecuted  they  the  prophets  which  were  before 
you. 


EVERY  SEVERAL  GATE  WAS  OF 
ONE  PEARL 

r  I  AHE  beatitudes  have  been  likened  to  a  string 
-»■     of  pearls.     The  comparison  is  just ;  for  each 
beatitude  like  each  pearl  has  its  own  special  and 
peculiar  beauty. 

i.  The  first  pearl  on  the  string  is — Blessed  are  the 
poor  in  spirit;  for  theirs  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 
We  have  dwelt  upon  this  beatitude  at  some  length. 
It  was  needful;  for  on  the  true  understanding  of 
this  benediction  much  depends.  It  is  our  Lord's 
first  blessing.  This  He  sets  forth  before  all  others 
as  the  leading  benediction  of  His  kingdom.  The 
temper  of  soul  expressed  by  the  words  u  poor  in 
spirit "  is  indispensable.  Without  it  there  is  no 
possession  of  the  heavenly  kingdom.  Without  it 
any  quantity  of  earthly  things  may  be  ours — acres 
of  land,  houses  full  of  silver  and  gold,  the  decora- 
tions of  worldly  honour  and  the  plaudits  of  men, 
but  not  one  rood  of  territory  in  the  divine  kingdom. 
101 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

But  he  who  is  poor  in  spirit,  though  he  may  own  no 
whit  of  the  earthly  possessions,  yet  owns,  not  one 
rood  only  of  heaven,  but  the  whole  of  that  kingdom. 
There  is  no  spot  in  the  divine  realm  which  is  not 
his  who  is  poor  in  spirit.  He  claims  nothing  as  his 
own,  and  therefore  all  things  are  his.  He  has 
ceased  from  self.  He  lives  by  love  and  for  love; 
and  so  all  earth  and  heaven  and  all  deep  places  are 
his.  u  Pauper  est,"  says  Bengel  sweetly,  "  qui  non 
habet  dicere,  hoc  meum  est."  He  is  poor  who  has 
it  not  in  his  power  to  say,  "This  is  mine."  He 
depends  upon  another — that  is,  God.  He  is  poor 
who  looks  to  God  for  all  and  claims  nothing  as  his 
own,  save  the  right  to  serve  others  by  love. 

The  spirit  of  this  first  blessing  lives  in  all  the 
beatitudes.  The  disposition  which  is  needful  for 
the  possession  of  the  kingdom  of  God  is  needful  for 
the  inheritance  of  all  the  blessings  of  that  kingdom. 
The  first  beatitude  is  the  portal  to  all  the  rest. 

ii.  Blessed  are  the  meek;  for  they  shall  inherit  the 
earth. 

The  verses  should  be  inverted.  The  benediction 
of  the  meek  should  follow  immediately  on  the  bless- 
ing of  the  poor  in  spirit.  And  this  because  the  two 
dispositions  are  so  allied  that  one  may  be  said  to 
grow  out  of  the  other.  The  meekness  which  is 
blessed  is  the  offspring  of  poverty  of  spirit.  It  is 
102 


EVERY  SEVERAL  GATE  WAS  OF  ONE  PEARL 

the  next  rung  of  the  Christian  ladder.  The  poor  in 
spirit  may  step  onward  to  meekness,  which  none 
can  reach  save  those  who  are  already  poor  in  spirit. 
And  as  the  dispositions  are  allied  to  one  another,  so 
also  the  blessings  which  wait  upon  them  are  related. 
The  possession  of  the  poor  in  spirit  is  the  kingdom  of 
heaven.     The  inheritance  of  the  meek  is  the  earth. 

Who  then  are  the  meek,  who  thus  shall  inherit 
the  earth  ?  Here  we  must  beware,  as  in  the  case  of 
the  previous  beatitude,  of  degrading  or  perverting 
the  meaning  of  the  word  meekness.  It  is  a  dispo- 
sition which  Christ  singles  out  as  a  blessed  and 
happy  one,  and  which  He  declares  to  be  full  of  a 
singular  mightiness,  so  great  and  forceful  in  its 
nature  that  it  will  in  the  end  inherit  the  earth. 

And  first  let  us  note  that  it  is  not  to  be  mistaken 
for  weakness,  any  more  than  poverty  of  spirit  is  to 
be  identified  with  mean-spiritedness. 

Meekness,  in  the  judgment  of  Aristotle,  is  a  kind 
of  propriety  of  affection  in  matters  which  provoke 
anger.  It  holds  a  middle  place  between  irascibility 
and  that  indifference  or  incapacity  of  feeling  which 
can  never  be  roused  to  wrath.  The  meek  man 
be  angry  on  fit  occasions,  but  he  holds  his  passion 
in  control  and  will  not  be  surprised  into  wrath 
His  spirit  is  free  from  the  perturbations  winch 
easily  stirred  -souls  experience.  Thus  the  meek 
103 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

man,  though  moved  by  anger  on  righteous  occasions, 
yet  inclines  to  a  defective  extreme ;  since  he  is  not 
resentful  of  injuries,  but  always  prone  to  pardon 
them.  And  this  inability  to  feel  just  provocation  is 
a  fault,  denoting  a  stupid  insensibility  of  character. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  philosopher's  idea  of 
meekness  falls  behind  the  Christian  idea.  With  the 
philosopher  the  meekness  proceeds  from  dulness 
and  insensibility.  It  is  a  defect  of  nature,  and  not  a 
victory  over  it.  In  our  Lord's  lips  the  idea  of 
meekness  is  a  much  richer  and  rarer  one  than  this. 
It  has  strength  where  the  ancient  only  saw  weak- 
ness. It  is  not  irascible,  because  it  is  lord  of  itself. 
It  is  not  vindictive  because  possessed  of  larger 
thoughts;  the  injuries  of  life  are  of  less  moment  than 
they  would  be  to  lesser  men.  It  is  closely  allied  to 
the  lowliness  of  mind  or  poverty  of  spirit  which 
possesses  heaven ;  and  on  the  other  side  it  is 
linked  with  that  reticence  and  self-control  of  nature 
which  belong  to  strong  characters  or  rather  to 
those  to  whom  heaven's  inward  strength  has  come. 
u  It  is,"  said  Archbishop  Trench,  "  not  in  a  man's 
outward  behaviour  only ;  nor  yet  in  his  relations  to 
his  fellow-men ;  as  little  in  his  mere  natural  disposi- 
tion. Rather  is  it  an  inwrought  grace  of  the  soul  ; 
and  the  exercises  of  it  are  first  and  chiefly  towards 
God"  (Matt.  xi.  29;  James  i.  21).  It  is  that 
104 


EVERY  SEVERAL  GATE  WAS  OF  ONE  PEARL 

temper  of  spirit  in  which  we  accept  His  dealings 
with  us  as  good,  and  therefore  without  disputing  or 
resisting.*  Much  of  this  is  true  and  well  said ;  and 
in  a  sense  the  chief  exercise  of  meekness  is  indeed 
towards  God.  But  in  the  beatitudes,  it  is  not  this 
feature,  I  think,  which  is  given  prominence. 

The  two  beatitudes  of  poverty  of  spirit  and  meek- 
ness are  linked  together;  but  the  first  looks  out 
towards  heaven,  the  second  by  comparison  has  its 
glance  towards  the  earth.  The  poverty  of  spirit 
implies  that  upward  look  which  is  the  impulse  of 
one  who  has  first  looked  within  and  found  how 
empty  and  barren  he  is  in  himself,  who  has  found 
that  all  is  from  above,  and  who,  ceasing  from  self, 
longs  to  be  filled  with  the  fulness  of  God.  Meek- 
ness looks  out  upon  the  earth  with  large  and  God- 
filled  soul,  and  moves  forward  to  the  conquest  of 
the  earth  with  the  patient,  strong,  self-restrained 
spirit  of  one  who  has  learned  that  all  is  of  God,  and 
that  to  Him  belong  the  earth  and  the  sea  and  all 
deep  places,  and  who  therefore  endures  with  gentle- 
ness and  patience  the  buffets  of  the  world ;  as 
the  sailor  meets  the  lashing  of  the  waves,  when 
he  knows  that  his  vessel  is  strong,  his  pilot  skilful, 
and  his  entry  into  port  certain.  In  poverty  of 
spirit  we  have  the  upward  glance  of  the  soul  which 

#  "  Synonyms  of  the  New  Testament,"  p.  E44. 
.i<>5 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

has  found  all  in  God  and  nothing  in  self.  In  meek- 
ness we  have  the  glance  of  the  same  soul  towards 
the  world  when  it  has  taken  another  step  and  is 
advancing  towards  earth  as  its  sphere  of  duty,  in 
the  strength  of  God. 

And  this  is  the  spirit  which  possesses  the  earth. 
The  most  superficial  view  of  life  may  well  warn  us 
that  the  quality  which  Aristotle  opposed  to  meekness 
will  hardly  win  the  world.  The  irascible  man  con- 
quers nothing,  for  the  simple  reason  that  he  who  has 
not  conquered  himself  is  foredoomed  to  failure 
sooner  or  later.  Meekness,  as  far  as  it  implies  a 
glorious  sovereignty  over  self,  is  a  victorious  quality  ; 
for  it  is  the  staying  power  which  means  patience  and 
endurance,  and  is  assured  of  the  spoil  which  belongs 
to  those  who  can  wait.*  The  truth  of  this  will 
become  more  apparent  from  day  to  day,  for  it  is  even 
now  being  brought  home  to  men  that  the  true  in- 
heritance of  the  earth  does  not  consist  in  those 
material  conquests  which  dazzled  the  ambitions  of 
worldly  heroes,  but  in  the  mastery  of  those  laws  and 
principles  by  which  all  things  are  governed.  He 
who  knows  a  law  of  nature  and  can  apply  it  has  a 

*  Keim  says  that  those  here  blessed  are  not  the  meek  but  the 
poor  (e.g.,  Psalms  xxxvii.  n),  who,  in  contrast  with  the  high- 
minded  sinners,  wait  upon  the  Lord.     He  translates;  "Blessed 
are  those  that  wait  (die  Harrenden)." 
1 06 


EVERY  SEVERAL  GATE  WAS  OF  ONE  PEARL 

truer  inheritance  in  the  earth  than  he  who  has  won 
a  battle  and  annexed  a  territory.  And  he  whose  life 
is  animated  by  the  Spirit  of  God  has  a  nobler  in- 
heritance than  either.  "  Pyramids,  arches,  obelisks," 
wrote  Sir  Thomas  Browne,  "were  but  the  irregu- 
larities of  vain  glory,  and  wild  enormities  of  ancient 
magnanimity.  But  the  most  magnanimous  resolu- 
tion rests  in  the  Christian  religion,  which  trampleth 
upon  pride  and  sits  on  the  neck  of  ambition,  humbly 
pursuing  that  infallible  perpetuity  unto  which  all 
others  diminish  their  diameters."     (Urn- Burial.) 

in.  Blessed  are  they  that  mourn;  for  they  shall  be 
comforted. 

And  this  after  all  is  the  most  wonderful  of  beati- 
tudes ;  for  here  is  a  most  strange  paradox,  that  there 
should  be  happiness  in  that  which  denies  all  happi- 
ness, and  blessing  in  mourning.  And  yet  there  is 
no  truer  beatitude  than  this.  For  we  may  view  the 
world  as  the  world  of  sin,  wherein  many,  vanquished 
by  passion  and  temptation,  have  fallen  into  strength- 
lessness  and  despair ;  or  we  may  see  it  as  a  world 
wherein  men  are  moving  forward  from  epoch  to 
epoch,  to  an  ever  higher  and  yet  higher  goal.  And 
in  whichever  way  we  look  at  the  world  we  shall  see 
the  benediction  of  sorrow.  For  if  the  world  be  the 
world  of  men  who  fall  because  of  sin,  he  cannot  1 
a  blessed  or  happy  heart  who  mourns  not  o\ 
107 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

he  sees  and  what  he  feels  ;  and  if  the  world  be  the 
place  wherein  loftier  heights  beckon  us  to  climb  ever 
upward,  he  cannot  be  blessed  who  is  content  where 
he  is  and  knows  no  mourning  for  the  heights  which 
he  has  failed  to  win.  In  the  one  case,  inability  to 
mourn  shows  lack  of  sympathy :  in  the  other,  it 
shows  an  ignominious  contentment,  and  lack  of  that 
ideal  which  teaches  us  our  shortcomings  and  spurs 
us  to  fresh  endeavour.  In  both  cases  it  argues  a 
lack  of  self-knowledge,  and  is  therefore  a  lack  of  un- 
happiness  which  is  most  unhappy. 

And  the  saying  has  a  message  for  the  distressed 
and  troubled.  -  It  is  not  only  the  sympathetic 
mourner  for  the  sorrows  and  sins  of  the  world,  nor 
the  ardent  soul  striving  to  reach  loftier  altitudes  of 
virtue,  who  are  remembered  in  this  beatitude.  It 
spreads  the  skirts  of  its  blessing  wider,  even  over 
those  who  are  in  any  trouble,  need,  sickness,  or 
adversity.  To  such  there  is  a  message.  These 
contrarieties  of  life  are  not  meaningless  or  valueless. 
They  are  part  of  the  discipline  and  education  of  life  : 
they  bring  forth  hereafter  the  peaceable  fruit  of 
righteousness  to  those  who  are  exercised  thereby 
(Heb.  xii.  u):  they  enable  the  afflicted  to  make 
manifest  the  higher  works  of  God  in  the  triumph  of 
patience  and  sweetness  in  the  midst  of  trouble  (John 
ix.  3).  Comfort  is  promised  to  these ;  and  the  com- 
108 


EVERY  SEVERAL  GATE  WAS  OF  ONE  PEARL 

fort  will  be  theirs  in  the  future  (cf.  Luke  xvi.  25) 
when  the  meaning  of  all  things  will  be  made  clear  ; 
yet  even  here  and  now  they  know  consolation  inas- 
much as  they  can  glory  in  tribulation,  knowing  that 
tribulation  worketh  patience,  and  patience  experience, 
and  experience  hope  (Rom.  v.  3-5).  Men  can  value 
the  sorrow  which  gives  them  the  opportunity  of  test- 
ing and  proving  the  principles  of-  the  inward  life. 
They  can  count  it  all  joy  when  they  fall  into  diverse 
temptations,  knowing  that  the  trial  of  faith  worketh 
patience  (James  i.  3).  The  heathen  world  perceived 
in  a  measure  this  truth  of  the  inward  value  of  afflic- 
tion. The  brave  man,  according  to  Seneca,  regarded 
adversities  as  exercises ;  and  nothing  was  more 
unhappy  than  that  a  man  should  meet  with  nothing 
adverse,  for  such  a  one  had  no  chance  of  putting 
himself  to  the  proof.  In  the  knowledge  of  these 
benefits  to  character  arising  out  of  affliction,  there  is 
comfort ;  but  it  is  only  assured  comfort  to  those  who 
know  that  the  trials  of  life  are  meted  out  by  that 
wise  love  which  chastens  only  for  our  profit,  that  we 
might  be  partakers  of  His  holiness  (Heb.  xii.  10) 
and  doth  not  afflict  willingly  the  children  of  men 
(Lam.  iii.  33). 

And  if  in  no  other  way  there  were  comfort  in  trial, 
yet  there  is  in  this  (and  it  is  eminently  a  Christian 
aspect  of  sorrow)  that  we  gather  an  experience  which 
IC9 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

makes  us  skilful  and  tender  in  ministering  to  others 
when  in  sorrow.  There  are  few  nobler  sayings  than 
that  of  the  apostle,  when  he  taught  this  truth  to  the 
Corinthians  (2  Cor.  i.  3, 4)  and  told  them  of  the  God 
of  comfort,  who  comforteth  us  in  all  our  tribulation, 
that  we  may  be  able  to  comfort  them  which  are  in 
any  trouble  by  the  comfort  wherewith  we  ourselves 
are  comforted  of  God.  Thus  does  St.  Paul  speak  of 
that  solidarity  of  love  which  through  the  instrument- 
ality of  sorrow  binds  man  to  man  by  binding  man  to 
God.  Nor  need  we  be  surprised  who  know  that  the 
Man  of  Sorrows  is  the  Prince  of  comfort  and  of 
peace.  So  sure  and  certain  is  the  beatitude — "  Blessed 
are  they  that  mourn ;  for  they  shall  be  comforted.'* 

iv.  Blessed  are  they  that  hunger  and  thirst  after 
righteousness  ;  for  they  shall  be  filled. 

This  beatitude  adds  a  sense  of  vigour  to  those 
which  have  gone  before,  and  in  so  doing  prepares  us 
for  the  more  active  beatitude  which  follows ;  for 
though  lowliness  of  mind,  meek  patience,  and  deep 
sorrowfulness  are  blessings  inasmuch  as  they  indi- 
cate a  spirit  not  dead  but  alive,  yet  they  suggest 
qualities  which  are  somewhat  negative  in  character, 
were  there  not  added  to  them  the  strong,  vigorous, 
passionate  longing  for  some  real  positive  force  like 
righteousness.  And  this  strong  desire  Christ 
expresses  by  the  images  of  hunger  and  thirst.     In 


EVERY  SEVERAL  GATE  WAS  OF  ONE  PEARL 

this  He  uses  images  which  were  familiar  to  those 
who  read  the  Old  Testament.  The  Psalmist  had 
described  his  desire  after  God  as  a  great  and  un- 
satisfied thirst — "My  soul  thirsteth  for  Thee,  my 
flesh  longeth  for  Thee  in  a  dry  and  thirsty  land 
where  no  water  is "  (Ps.  lxiii.  i).  "As  the  hart 
panteth  after  the  water  brooks,  so  panteth  my  soul 
after  Thee,  O  God.  My  soul  thirsteth  for  God,  for 
the  living  God."  And  almost  as  if  in  answer  to  this 
great  cry  of  thirst  the  great  prophet  proclaims  the 
freely  given  water  (Ps.  xlii.  i,  2).  u  Ho,  every  one 
that  thirsteth,  come  ye  to  the  waters,  and  he  that 
hath  no  money  ;  come  ye,  buy,  and  eat ;  yea,  come, 
buy  wine  and  milk  without  money  and  without  price" 
(Isa.  lv.  1).  The  image  expresses  the  truth  that  there 
is  something  which  the  soul  of  man  feels  to  be 
necessary  to  its  very  life.  He  must  eat  of  the  tree 
which  can  give  him  life  (Gen.  iii.  22-24).  There  is 
a  divine  food  which  is  essential  to  the  human  life. 
It  is  the  sense  that  food  and  drink  are  needful  for 
existence  which  gives  such  acuteness  to  hunger  and 
thirst.  How  happy,  says  Jesus  Christ,  are  they 
who  have  found  that  righteousness  is  indispensable 
to  their  life.  Happy,  indeed  !  for  it  is  a  tremendous 
discovery,  and  it  is  by  no  means  a  world-wide  one. 
The  saddest,  maddest  spectacle  of  the  world's  sorrow 
is  this — that  thousands  upon  thousands  do  not  feci 
in 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

that  righteousness  is  necessary  to  their  life.  They 
have  a  vague  idea  that  they  ought  to  be  good  and 
some  transient  wishes  that  they  might  be  so  ;  but 
these  thin  and  spasmodic  emotions  are  very  far 
removed  from  the  state  of  soul  which  feels  that  it 
must  have  righteousness  with  the  same  intensity 
that  a  starving  man  feels  that  he  must  have  food. 
The  weak  and  passing  wishes  after  goodness  lead  to 
no  determined  effort.  The  passion  for  what  is  felt 
to  be  necessary  will  spare  no  effort  and  take  no 
denial.  It  is  urged  onwards  by  that  necessity  which 
is  the  spur  to  vigour  as  well  as  the  mother  of  inven- 
tion. Here  the  attitude,  then,  is  very  different  from 
that  of  the  meek  and  waiting  soul.  Here  is  the 
spirit  of  that  violence  which  taketh  the  kingdom  of 
God  by  force  (Matt.  xi.  12).  Here  is  the  spirit  of 
the  glorious  wrestler  who  cries,  "  I  will  not  let  thee 
go  except  thou  bless  me  "  (Gen.  xxxii.  26). 

It  is  not  in  the  very  earliest  stages  of  the  religious 
life  that  we  truly  discover  this  or  experience  this 
holy  hunger  and  thirst.  We  need  to  have  climbed 
the  earlier  rungs  of  the  ladder  before  we  reach  this 
one.  Pride  and  self-satisfaction  must  have  been 
banished :  the  soul  must  have  waited  on  God  and 
mourned  over  evil,  before  it  can  fully  and  vividly 
realise  that  righteousness  is  indeed  the  very  necessity 
of  life.  But  when  this  stage  is  reached,  it  is  in  a  new 
112 


EVERY  SEVERAL  GATE  WAS  OF  ONE  PEARL 

region  of  happiness;  for  it  is  ever  a  blessed  thing  to 
know  truly  and  really  what  we  need.  Half  human 
life  (ah  !  more  than  half)  is  spent  in  desiring  we 
know  not  what.  We  scarcely  know  what  we  wish 
or  we  wish  for  things  which  cannot  possibly  satisfy 
our  desire,  but  which  we  fondly  imagine  will  do  so. 
In  countless  experiences  and  manifold  merciful  ways, 
the  voice  of  divine  love  cries  in  pity.  "  Whoso 
drinketh  of  this  water  will  thirst  again  "  (John  iv. 
13).  "  Wherefore  do  ye  spend  your  money  for  that 
which  is  not  bread,  and  your  labour  for  that  which 
satisfieth  not  ?  "  (Is.  Iv.  2). 

Without  righteousness  there  is  no  satisfaction  for 
moral  beings ;  and  the  righteousness  which  can 
satisfy  is  not  a  righteousness  before  man,  or  a 
righteousness  which  reaches  to  the  level  of  society's 
expectations.  The  righteousness  hungered  for  must 
be  a  real  and  true  righteousness,  even  a  righteous- 
ness of  the  soul  itself. 

"  Non  significatur  hie  jus  fori  humani,  sed  divini. 
.  .  .  Non  dicit,  beati  justi,  ut  mox  dicit,  bcati  miseri- 
cordes,  &c,  sed,  esurientes  et  sitientes  justitiain  " 
(Bengcl).  The  righteousness  is  not  a  righteous- 
ness which  will  meet  conventional  requirements. 
That  which  is  desired  is  a  righteousness  which 
is  felt  to  be  necessary  and  is  known  to  be  out  of 
li  ;  and  is  therefore  hungered  and  thirsted  for 
iij  « 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

with  a  desire  which  cannot  be   satisfied  with  any 
lower  thing. 

"  La  sete  natural  che  mai  non  sazia 

Se  non  con  l'acqua  onde  la  femminetta 
Samaritana  domando  la  grazia."  * 

The  food  must  be  divine  which  each  new-born 
soul  desires.  It  is  true,  real  inward  righteousness, 
exceeding  that  of  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  which  the 
spirit  requires.  To  be  offered  anything  else  is  to 
ask  bread  and  to  be  given  a  stone. 

And  what  is  the  reward  ?  Those  so  hungering 
and  thirsting  shall  be  filled.  With  what  ?  With 
the  happiness  of  Messiah's  kingdom  ?  With  the 
splendours  and  authorities  of  heaven  ?  No ;  but 
with  that  which  they  have  desired.  They  hungered 
for  righteousness — with  righteousness  shall  they  be 
filled.  They  thirsted  for  righteousness — with  the 
gift  of  righteousness  shall  they  be  satisfied.  They 
shall  be  that  which  they  desired  to  be.  They  shall 
be  righteous.  They  shall  be  called,  "  Trees  of 
righteousness,  the  planting  of  the  Lord  "  (Is.  lxi.  3). 
They  shall  be  covered  with  the  robe  of  righteousness 
— not  a  fictitious,  but  a  real  righteousness  (Is.  lxi. 
10);  for  they  will  wake  up  after  God's  likeness  and 
be  satisfied  with  it  (Ps.  xvii.  15).  Here  and  now 
they  grow  from    strength   to  strength   amid  many 

*  "  Purg."  xxi.  1-3. 

114 


EVERY  SEVERAL  GATE  WAS  OF  ONE  PEARL 

difficulties  and  with  much  failing.  The  future  is 
dark.  "  They  know  not  what  they  shall  be  ; "  but 
the  future  blessedness  for  which  they  hunger  is 
certain ;  u  for  they  shall  be  like  Him,  for  they  shall 
see  Him  as  He  is"  (i  John  iii.  2). 

v.  Blessed  are  the  merciful;  for  they  shall  obtain 
mercy. 

It  has  sometimes  been  objected  that  the  Christian 
ideal  is  too  negative.  It  applauds  the  virtues  of 
resignation,  meekness,  and  passive  endurance ;  but 
it  has  little  to  say  of  the  more  sturdy  and  active 
virtues.  It  lacks  virility.  The  charge  is  not  true, 
though  some  facts  may  make  it  seem  true  to  certain 
minds.  It  is  a  fact  that  Jesus  Christ  discouraged 
violence  and  roughness,  and  anything  approaching 
to  arrogant  self-assertion.  Strength  was  to  be  used, 
but  chivalrously,  not  rudely,  with  a  noble  self- 
mastery  and  a  wise  thoughtfulness  for  others,  and 
in  no  way  selfishly.  And  men  have  been  ready  to 
admit  this  principle  ever  since  the  time  when  they 
began  to  aspire  to  be  gentlemen.  Yet  no  one  thinks 
that  in  being  a  gentleman,  a  man  loses  anything  of 
his  virility  or  proper  manhood.  It  is  rather  felt 
that  in  sweet  courtesy  and  easy  self-restraint,  man- 
hood is  becoming  more  truly  manly,  it  being  no  part 
of  manliness  to  be  the  slave  of  the  impulses  of  prids 
or  passion,  of  petulance:  or  greed.     It  follows  that 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

in  placing  lowliness,  meekness  and  gentleness  before 
men,  Christ  did  not  lower  the  dignity  of  man,  but 
raised  it  to  a  higher  level.  But  neither  did  our 
Lord  so  raise  and  refine  it  that  the  vigorous  forces 
of  manhood  were  lost  sight  of.  He  does  not  incul- 
cate passive  virtues  only.  Human  happiness  could 
not  be  so  found,  for  man's  nature  is  active.  His 
bliss  is  only  found  in  being  up  and  doing.  The 
limit  of  this  vigour  was  given  in  the  last  beatitude. 
The  hunger  and  thirst  for  righteousness  must 
prompt  to  earnest  action.  But  it  is  in  the  present 
beatitude  that  the  active  virtues  are  first  completely 
and  definitely  .expressed.  Happiness  is  found  in 
mercy;  and  Mercy,  once  she  looks  out  upon  the 
world,  finds  ceaseless  employment.  She  may  be 
ever  working ;  for  deeds  of  mercy  may  be  daily, 
hourly,  continuously  done. 

And  here  let  it  be  noted  that  the  virtues  which 
bring  happiness  take  on  a  most  divine  hue.  The 
earlier  beatitudes  are  in  a  sense,  as  Keim  describes 
them,  virtues  of  sorrow.  We  feel  that  the  touch  of 
human  weakness  and  frailty  is  more  or  less  upon 
them.  But  in  being  merciful,  men  rise  above  them- 
selves, and  become  most  divine  indeed,  being  then 
most  like  to  Him  whose  tender  mercy  is  over  all 
His  works.  Then,  too,  they  rise  above  the  level  of 
a  mere  earthly  wisdom  :  they  live  in  the  atmosphere 
u6 


EVERY  SEVERAL  GATE  WAS  OF  ONE  PEARL 

of  that  wisdom  from  above,  one  of  whose  character- 
istics it  is  to  be  full  of  mercy,  and  that  of  an  active 
sort,  for  it  is  also  full  of  good  works  (James  iii.  17). 
But  the  reminder  that  we  are  but  men  remains 
in  the  beatitude,  notwithstanding  the  height  of 
heavenly  bliss  to  which  it  lifts  us ;  for  the  blessing 
which  waits  upon  the  merciful  calls  back  the  re- 
membrance of  our  frailty  and  of  our  falls,  and  pro- 
mises that  mercy  which  the  very  best  of  us  must 
stand  in  need  of ;  for  the  promise  to  the  merciful  is, 
"  they  shall  obtain  mercy."  Thus  sweetly  and 
wisely  does  our  Lord  lift  us  to  heaven,  and  lower 
us  to  earth,  that  we  may  know  ourselves  even  when 
we  know  God,  and  in  knowing  God,  know  both 
what  He  would  have  us  do  and  what  He  will  do  for 
us.  "  Mercy,  misericordia,"  says  Ruskin,  "does  not 
in  the  least  mean  forgiveness  of  sins,  but  pity  of 
sorrows."  And  this  indeed  is  true  ;  but  yet,  seeing 
there  is  no  sorrow  like  the  sorrow  which  the  sense 
of  sins  brings,  it  is  the  divine  pity  for  such  sorrow 
which  brings  the  forgiveness  of  sins  ;  but  even  this 
(so  we  are  taught)  would  never  come  to  the  man  of 
merciless  heart.  He  who  had  no  pity  for  his  fellow- 
servant,  should  look  for  no  pity  from  his  lord  (Matt, 
xxv.  41-46);  for  the  divine  mercy  cannot  have 
entered  his  heart  who  shuts  up  his  heart  against  his 
brother's  need  (1  John  iii.  17).  Thus,  as  Quarlcs 
.1.7 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

says,  "  Mercy  turns  her  back  upon  the  unmerciful." 
And  here  we  see  again  how  all  happiness  just 
means  likeness  to  God.  The  happiness  of  heaven 
cannot  be  his  whose  hard  and  merciless  heart 
knows  no  pity,  melts  at  no  distress  and  beats  with  no 
sympathy  for  others.  It  is  he  whose  heart  is  full 
of  a  sort  of  divine  mercifulness  who  knows  the  hap- 
piness of  heaven.  In  howsoever  small  a  degree  we 
reflect  the  character  of  God  we  catch  the  light  of 
heaven's  bliss,  and  yet  it  is  chiefly  through  God's 
dear  mercy  known  that  we  awaken  to  the  joy  of 
such  mercifulness  of  spirit. 

"  To  threats  the  stubborn  sinner  oft  is  hard 
Wrapped  in  his  crimes,  against  the  storm  prepared ; 
But  when  the  milder  beams  of  mercy  play, 
He  melts,  and  throws  his  cumbrous  cloak  away. ' 

And  thus  both  these  things  are  true.  It  is 
through  the  exercise  of  mercifulness  that  we  find 
God's  mercy.  It  is  the  mercy  of  God  which  inspires 
our  mercifulness.  It  is  the  story  of  the  mirror  and 
the  light  again.  It  is  through  the  light  on  the 
mirror  that  we  know  that  there  is  light  elsewhere ; 
and  it  is  because  the  light  shines  that  the  mirror  can 
reflect  the  light.  Our  mercifulness  but  reflects 
God's  mercy,  and  our  mercifulness  is  the  assurance 
that  there  is  mercy  with  God.  We  know  His  mercy 
through  our  own,  because  our  own  is  but  the  shadow 

118 


EVERY  SEVERAL  GATE  WAS  OF  ONE  PEARL 

of  His.  So,  "  blessed  are  the  merciful ;  for  they  shall 
obtain  mercy." 

vi.  Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart ;  for  they  shall 
see  God. 

In  this  beatitude,  as  in  all  His  teaching,  our  Lord 
does  more  than  merely  promise  a  specific  blessing 
to  a  specific  virtue.  He  affirms  a  principle  of  the 
spiritual  kingdom.  The  principle  is  the  never-to-be- 
forgotten  one,  that  our  powers  of  perception  are 
narrowed  or  enlarged  by  our  moral  condition.  This 
is  no  new  principle  ;  for  it  belongs  to  the  eternal 
order  of  God.  Neither  is  it  a  newly  stated  principle, 
for  it  had  been  enunciated  in  Old  Testament  times. 
The  writer  of  the  50th  Psalm  glanced  at  this  truth 
when  he  showed  that  God  wanted  no  sacrifice  but 
that  of  thanksgiving,  and  no  honour  but  that  of  a 
true  life,  and  declared  that  to  such  the  revelation  of 
God  would  be  made  known.  "  To  him  that  ordereth 
his  conversation  aright  will  I  show  the  salvation  of 
God "  (Ps.  1.  23).  A  similar  thought  was  in  the 
words  of  David,  "With  the  pure  thou  shalt  be 
pure"  (2  Sam.  xxii.  27;  cf.  Ps.  xviii.  26).  It  is 
found  again  with  a  difference  in  Is.  l.wi  2  \  "To 
this  man  will  I  look,  even  to  him  that  is  poor  and 
of  a  contrite  spirit."  All  these  passages  arc  united 
by  the  common  principle  that  the  vision  of  God  to 
the  soul  is  conditioned  by  the  state  of  the  heart.     It 

!I9 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

is  this  which  Christ  once  more  affirms.  The  heart 
must  be  pure.  The  foolish  heart  is  darkened  (Rom. 
i.  21).  The  single-minded  has  light  (Matt.  vi.  22). 
"A  pure  heart  penetrateth  heaven  and  hell/'  said 
the  author  of  the  "  Imitation." 

And  similar  is  the  thought  which  Tennyson  put 
into  the  mouth  of  Sir  Galahad  : 

11  More  bounteous  aspects  on  me  beam, 
Me  mightier  transports  move  and  thrill ; 
So  keep  I  fair  thro'  faith  and  prayer 
A  virgin  heart  in  work  and  will." 

For  this  purity  which  Christ  declares  to  be 
blessed  is  not-  purity  in  one  matter  alone.  It  is 
not  the  purity  of  the  Pharisee  who  thought  chiefly 
of  ceremonial  purity.  Epictetus  took  a  higher  view 
of  purity  than  this,  for  he  said,  "  The  highest  purity 
is  that  which  is  in  the  soul"  (Bk.  iv.  ch.  11).  With 
a  word  Christ  cuts  off  all  thought  of  mere  outward 
purity.  He  does  not  say,  "Blessed  are  the  cere- 
monially clean  "  ;  for  He  saw  that  there  were  many 
who  made  clean  the  outside  of  the  cup  and  platter, 
but  within  were  full  of  extortion  and  excess.  Such 
He  counselled  to  cleanse  that  which  is  within 
(Matt,  xxiii.  25,  26).  So  with  a  word  here  He 
keeps  that  inward  cleanness  before  His  disciples, 
for  He  says,  "  Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart."  And 
in  doing  this,  He  asks  a  more  real  purity  than  that 
120 


EVERY  SEVERAL  GATE  WAS  OF  ONE  PEARL 

of  the  body  merely.  He  asks  that  the  thoughts  of 
the  heart  may  be  pure  also.  He  tells  us  that 
wandering  desires  dim  the  vision  of  God  to  the 
soul.  He  tells  us  that  doubtful  or  selfish  motives 
mingling  with  our  good  deeds,  defile  them.  He 
asks  no  less  the  purity  of  a  single  eye  than  the 
chastity  of  the  heart.  "  Purity  of  heart,"  says 
Bengel  rightly,  "embraces  chastity  and  freedom 
from  the  other  defilements  of  sin."  Hypocrisy 
and  worldliness  of  spirit  is  excluded ;  for  we  must 
keep  those  interpreting  words  of  Christ  Him- 
self, "Thou  hast  hid  these  things  from  the  wise 
and  prudent,  and  hast  revealed  them  unto  babes" 
(Luke  x.  21).  The  purity  includes  the  simplicity, 
directness,  singlemindedness,  and  unselfishness  of 
the  child  just  as  it  excludes  those  lower  and  animal 
passions  which  degrade  the  body,  defile  the  soul, 
and  spread  grossness  over  the  mind. 

The  blessing  is,  They  shall  see  God.  No  doubt 
in  the  hereafter,  when  the  disciplining  work  of  God 
is  completed  and  when  we  are  like  Him,  wc  shall 
see  Him  as  He  is ;  but  even  here  and  now,  insight 
is  the  portion  of  the  pure  in  heart.  For  the  jaded 
sensualist  sees  nothing  of  the  beauty  which  is  open 
to  other  and  purer  eyes.  "The  luxurious  soul," 
laid  St.  Chrysostom,  "is  unable  to  hear  or  see 
anything."    On  the  other  hand,  it  has  been  well 

Z2X 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

said  of  the  pure  in  heart :  "  Isti  sunt  prae  ceteris 
capaces  cognitionis  Dei,  ut  enim  oculo  tenebrae,  ita 
cordi  peccatorum  sordes  officiunt  quoad  visionem 
Dei."  Such  are,  more  than  others,  fit  for  the  know- 
ledge of  God ;  for  as  darkness  hinders  the  eye,  so 
doth  the  filth  of  sins  hinder  the  heart  in  the  vision 
of  God.  God's  judgments  are  to  the  soul  immersed 
in  sin,  as  the  Psalmist  said,  far  above  out  of  his 
sight  (Ps.  x.  5).  But  to  the  pure,  the  ways  of  the 
Lord  are  right,  the  laws  of  the  Lord  are  good. 
And  the  hill  of  the  Lord,  on  whose  summit  all  light 
shines,  is  no  inaccessible  height.  Who  shall  ascend 
the  hill  of  the  -Lord  ?  He  that  hath  clean  hands 
and  a  pure  heart  (Ps.  xxiv.  3,  4).  As  the  full 
vision  of  God  belongs  hereafter  to  the  pure  in 
heart,  for  without  holiness  no  man  shall  see  the 
Lord  (Heb.  xii.  14),  so  in  the  present,  the  way  of 
life  below  is  happier,  for  such  gain  glimpses  of  His 
love,  and  read  tokens  of  His  presence  unnoted  of 
other  men.  They  know  that  fuller  disclosures  of 
His  character  await  them.  So  blessed  in  fruition 
and  in  hope  are  the  pure  in  heart,  who  in  a  sense 
now  see,  and  hereafter  shall  more  fully  see,  God. 

vii.  Blessed  are  the  peacemakers ;  for  they  shall  be 
called  the  children  of  God. 

The  next  feature  of  those  who  belong  to  the 
blessed  kingdom  of  God  is  that  they  are  peace- 
m 


EVERY  SEVERAL  GATE  WAS  OF  ONE  PEARL 

making.  Some  have  taken  the  word  peacemakers 
as  though  it  meant  simply  men  of  a  peaceable  dis- 
position. It  is  quite  true  that  this  peaceable  temper 
will  almost  certainly  belong  to  the  peacemaker.  We 
may  almost  say  that  such  a  temper  is  indispensable 
.  for  successful  peacemaking,  and  we  might  almost 
say  that  Christ  takes  this  for  granted,  since  He  has 
just  said  that  the  pure  in  heart  shall  see  God ;  and 
this  inward  purity  with  its  accompanying  blessing 
of  the  near  realisation  of  God's  presence  can  hardly 
fail  to  promote  that  inward  moral  harmony  and  calm 
disposition  which  create  the  peaceable  spirit.  But 
to  limit  the  thought  of  Christ  to  this  inner  peace- 
fulness  is  to  miss  much  of  the  meaning  and  fulness 
of  the  beatitude.  It  must  be  kept  in  mind,  more- 
over, that  in  the  second  portion  of  the  beatitudes 
we  pass  into  the  active  and  positive  spheres  of 
heavenly  blessing.  The  earlier  beatitudes  are 
more  negative  in  character.  After  the  central  one 
(Blessed  are  they  that  hunger  and  thirst  after  right- 
eousness) we  pass  into  the  region  of  activity.  We 
see  the  outstretched  hand  of  active  mercy :  we  hear 
the  revelation  of  the  Divine  Presence,  which  only 
the  pure-hearted  can  disclose ;  and  in  our  present 
beatitude  we  see  the  active  force  of  those  who  do 
not  simply  enjoy  peace,  but  seek  in  every  possible 
form  to  promote  peace.  Those  whom  Christ  dc- 
123 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

clares  to  be  blessed  are  those  who,  being  them- 
selves at  peace,  seek  to  make  peace  everywhere  and 
at  all  times.  They  will  strive  to  make  men  of  one 
mind  in  a  house.  They  will  seek  to  make  them 
realise  the  brotherhood  of  man.  They  will  promote 
peace  wherever  there  has  been  quarrel  or  dissen- 
sion. They  will  be  mindful  not  to  let  the  sun  go 
down  upon  their  wrath  (Eph.  iv.  26).  They  will 
seek  to  reconcile  the  offended,  to  do  good  to  their 
enemies  (Rom.  xii.  20 ;  Matt.  v.  44),  to  make  peace 
between  foes,  to  bring  all  men  into  peace  with  one 
another  and  with  God. 

They  will  strive  to  reconcile  man  with  man  and 
man  with  God.  They  will  follow  peace  with  all 
men  (Heb.  xii.  14).  They  will  seek  peace  and  ensue 
it  (1  Pet.  iii.  11),  and  in  doing  this  they  will  achieve 
something  greater  than  the  mere  possession  of  a 
peaceful  heart,  or  a  life  untroubled  with  conflict ; 
for  as  Dean  Plumptre  truly  wrote :  "  To  be  able  to 
say  with  power  to  those  who  are  bitter  foes,  '  Sirs, 
ye  are  brethren '  (Acts  vii.  26)  is  nobler  even  than 
to  strive  to  live  peaceably  with  all  men  (Rom. 
xii.  18)."  Yes,  nobler  indeed;  for  to  secure  peace 
for  ourselves  in  our  souls  or  in  our  circumstances 
is  not  so  noble  as  to  promote  true  peace  among 
men ;  for  this  latter  involves,  perchance,  the  sacri- 
fice of  the  personal  tranquillity  which  is  so  dear  to 
124 


* 


EVERY  SEVERAL  GATE  WAS  OF  ONE  PEARL 

peaceable  dispositions.  Was  not  Moses  himself  an 
example  of  this,  who  brought  trouble  on  himself  in 
seeking  to  make  peace  among  his  brethren  (Exod. 
ii.  13-15)  ?  And  does  not  our  Lord  give  the  hint  of 
this,  when  He  passes  immediately  from  the  bene- 
diction of  the  peacemaker  to  the  blessing  of  those 
who  are  persecuted  for  righteousness'  sake  ?  Nay, 
does  not  the  reward  which  He  promises  to  the  peace- 
maker carry  a  hint  of  the  same  thing  ? 

They  shall  be  called  the  children  (rather,  the 
sons)  of  God.  Whatever  they  aspire  to,  they  can- 
not aspire  to  higher  than  this,  to  be  called  like  their 
Master,  sons  of  God.  And  must  not  those  who  are 
thus  named  be  prepared  to  drink  the  cup  of  which 
He  drank  (Matt.  xx.  22),  and  to  find,  like  their 
Lord  when  they  labour  for  peace,  there  are  those 
who  make  them  ready  for  battle  (Ps.  cxx.  7)  ? 

But  their  reward  is  sure,  and  it  is  high.  They 
shall  be  called  the  sons  of  God ;  and  this  because 
they  show  in  deed  the  spirit  of  their  Father,  who  is 
the  God  of  peace  (Rom.  xvi.  20),  and  because  they 
follow  the  example  of  their  Master,  who  as  Son  of 
God  was  also  Prince  of  Peace  (Is.  ix,  6),  and  made 
peace  and  proclaimed  peace  on  earth  (Col.  i.  20; 
Eph.  ii.  14;  Luke  ii.  14).  The  name  given  to  them 
will  be  no  empty  name,  no  idle  and  ostentatious 
apotheosis.  It  will  be  the  name  given  to  those  who 
its 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

are  called  sons  of  God,  because  their  spirit  and  life 
reveal  that  they  are  sons  of  God.  The  world  will 
take  knowledge  of  them,  and  recognise  what  they 
truly  are.  And  this  is  no  small  thing,  that  a  man 
should  so  live  that  the  world,  though  perchance  per- 
secuting him  and  saying  all  manner  of  evil  against 
him,  should  nevertheless  acknowledge  that  the  life 
he  lived  had  in  it  something  of  heaven,  and  should 
confess  that  he  was  on  the  earth  like  a  son  of  God. 
To  have  so  wrought  upon  the  heart  and  conscience 
of  mankind  is  not  to  have  lived  in  vain,  and  is  to  be 
happy  indeed.  And  such  is  the  happiness  of  this 
beatitude.  "  Blessed  are  the  peacemakers ;  for  they 
shall  be  called  the  sons  of  God." 

vin.  Blessed  are  they  that  are  persecuted  for  right- 
eousness1 sake;  for  theirs  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 

The  blessings  in  the  previous  beatitudes  belonged 
to  a  certain  disposition  or  character.  This  last  pro- 
nounces a  blessing  on  those  whose  character 
endures  in  the  time  of  testing.  It  is  blessed  to 
have  a  certain  character,  but  the  reality  of  the 
blessing  and  of  the  character,  is  brought  out  in  the 
time  of  trial.  Thus,  this  eighth  beatitude  sets  the 
seal  upon  the  seven  which  precede.  It  is  not  a  dis- 
tinct beatitude,  as  it  were  ;  it  adds  to  the  others  no 
new  inward  quality.  It  only  says  blessed  are  they 
who,  possessing  the  love  of  righteousness,  can 
126 


EVERY  SEVERAL  GATE  WAS  OF  ONE  PEARL 

stand  the  ordeal  which  tests  reality.  The  inward 
love  of  righteousness  is  assumed.  It  is  not  perse- 
cution which  makes  a  saint.  It  is  the  love  of 
righteousness  which  transforms  the  sufferer  into  the 
saintly  sufferer.  And  here  it  is  to  be  noted  that  it 
is  the  love  of  righteousness  which,  in  Christ's  view, 
is  the  indispensable  condition  of  the  beatitude.  It 
is  righteousness,  neither  more  nor  less  than  living 
and  active  righteousness,  which  our  Lord  has  in 
view. 

It  includes  a  keen  sense  of  justice.  The  Latin 
versions  remind  us  of  this.  Blessed  are  they  that 
are  persecuted  for  the  sake  of  justice  {propter 
justitiam — Old  Version— jusliticv  causa — Beza).  A 
man  may  be  a  martyr  for  his  own  opinions.  In  this 
case  we  may  justly  condemn  his  persecutors  without 
in  any  way  approving  his  opinions.  And,  broadly 
speaking,  the  opinions  for  which  he  suffers  do  not 
make  him  a  sufferer  for  righteousness'  sake.  The 
martyr  for  opinion's  sake  is  chiefly  a  martyr  in  this, 
that  he  will  not,  for  fear  or  favour,  utter  an  untruth 
or  declare  himself  a  believer  of  that  which  he  does 
not  believe.  It  is  his  loyalty  to  his  own  convict  ion 
and  conscience  which  makes  him  a  sufferer  for 
righteousness'  sake— rather  than  the  special  opinions 
true  or  false  which  he  holds.  This  distinction  is 
necessary  if  we  arc  to  be  fair  towards  men  whose 

X27 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

opinions  we  do  not  share.  It  may  be  paradox  but 
it  is  true,  that  a  man  who  holds  mistaken  views 
and  suffers  for  his  honesty  may  be  truly  a  sufferer 
for  righteousness'  sake,  while  the  most  scrupulous 
orthodoxy  may  miss  the  benediction.  The  ethical 
attitude  of  the  man  may  be  right  while  his  opinions 
may  be  wrong.  And  the  ethical  attitude  of  ortho- 
doxy may  be  wholly  unrighteous.  Dr.  Dollinger 
pointed  out  that  the  want  of  justice  was  called  by 
men  fanaticism  and  that  there  have  been  times  when 
the  best  of  men  have  acted  fanatically — i.e.,  without 
justice.  When  Philip  Augustus  robbed  and  exiled 
the  Jews,  the  Pope  declared  that  he  had  acted  out  of 
godly  zeal.  Even  holy  Ambrose  "  pronounced  the 
burning  of  a  Synagogue  in  Rome  to  be  a  deed  well- 
pleasing  to  God."  In  the  view  of  Christ  the  bene- 
diction falls  on  those  whose  hearts  are  set  on 
righteousness.  In  the  quarrels  and  persecutions 
which  have  been  waged  in  the  name  of  religion,  the 
blessing  of  Christ  must  often  have  fallen,  not  on 
those  who  were  most  stalwart  for  true  opinions,  but 
on  the  man,  mistaken  yet  honest  in  his  error,  who 
would  not  pretend  a  faith  which  was  not  his,  nor 
make  his  judgment  blind.  In  this,  he  must  be 
truthful.  Truthfulness  is  justice  to  conviction.  It 
is  better  to  be  honestly  wrong  than  dishonestly 
right;  for  then  the  man  is  right  though  his  views 
128 


EVERY  SEVERAL  GATE  WAS  OF  ONE  PEARL 

may  be  wrong.  It  is  best  of  all  to  be  both  right 
and  honest ;  but  it  is  indispensable  that  a  man  be 
honest.  Then,  if  persecuted,  he  is  persecuted  for 
righteousness'  sake.  To  win  this  blessing,  it  is 
needful  that  a  man  should  hunger  and  thirst  for 
righteousness.  He  must  see  that  the  cause  of  right 
can  never  be  advanced  by  ways  that  are  not  right. 
The  kingdom  of  heaven  can  never  be  won  by  the 
man  who  seeks  to  establish  it  by  the  violation  of 
the  laws  of  that  kingdom.  "  Theirs  is  the  kingdom 
of  heaven"  is  the  promise  to  those  who  hold  fast 
their  righteousness  in  spite  of  every  opposition, 
and  who  can  cling  loyally  to  the  laws  of  God,  even 
when  the  professed  servants  of  God  cast  them  out 
as  evil  and  pronounce  them  heretic. 

Theirs  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  Not  often, 
indeed,  have  such  men  won  the  kingdom  of  earth. 
The  recognition  of  the  wide  application  of  the  law 
of  righteousness  is  rare.  Few  can  do  justice  toward 
those  who  differ  from  them.  The  weight  of  the 
ruling  opinion  presses  hard  upon  the  man  who 
declares  for  righteousness  against  privilege  and 
against  accepted  maxims.  But  there  are  glimpses 
of  heaven  for  the  courageous  souls  who  have 
followed  righteousness  at  all  hazards.  "  I  separate 
thee  from  God's  Church  on  earth,"  shouted  the 
persecutors  of  Savonarola.  "  But  not  from  the 
Z29  i 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

Church  in  heaven/'  answered  the  lonely  hero. 
Theirs  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  Can  we  not  see 
that  it  must  be  so  ?  The  follower  of  righteousness 
has  grasped  the  laws  of  the  kingdom.  He  who 
lives  under  the  laws  of  any  realm  has  gone  far 
towards  enjoying  its  blessings.  He  who  has 
suffered  rather  than  renounce  the  righteous  order  of 
God's  kingdom,  has  already  tasted  of  its  glory. 


130 


KNOWN   AND   UNKNOWN   INFLUENCE 


St.  Matt.  v.  13-16 

Ye  are  the  salt  of  the  earth  :  but  if  the  salt  have  lost  his  savour, 
wherewith  shall  it  be  salted?  it  is  thenceforth  good  for  nothing,  but 
to  be  cast  out,  and  to  be  trodden  under  foot  of  men. 

Ye  are  the  light  of  the  world.  A  city  that  is  set  on  an  hill  can- 
not be  hid. 

Neither  do  men  light  a  candle,  and  put  it  under  a  bushel,  but  on 
a  candlestick  ;  and  it  giveth  light  unto  all  that  are  in  the  house. 

Let  your  light  so  shine  before  men,  that  they  may  see  your  good 
works,  and  glorify  your  Father  which  is  in  heaven. 


'%&- 


KNOWN  AND  UNKNOWN  INFLUENCE 

HAPPINESS  is  not  found  in  the  acquisition 
of  wealth,  or  in  the  proud  consciousness  of 
human  applause.  It  is  found  rather  in  the  posses- 
sion of  right  dispositions  and  in  the  living  of  a  life 
in  harmony  with  them.  It  lies  not  in  material 
things,  but  rather  in  living  according  to  the  order  of 
our  being.  It  is  found  in  the  realisation  of  our  true 
place  in  God's  world  ;  and  in  using  our  capacities 
there  for  the  good  of  the  world.  Riches,  possessions, 
applause  are  powerless  to  bless.  But  the  poor  in 
spirit,  the  meek,  the  pure-hearted,  the  earnest  striver 
after  righteousness  or  the  patient  sufferer  for  it — 
these  and  such  as  these  are  blessed. 

So  our  Lord  taught  in  His  beatitudes.  The  excite- 
ment, cares  and  apprehensions  of  existence  hung 
over  the  hearts  of  those  to  whom  He  spoke.  The 
fever  of  life  was  in  their  veins.  False  dreams  of 
happiness  filled  their  imaginations,  as  they  have 
filled  ours.     A  little  mitigation    of  the   severity  of 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

their  lot,  a  little  kindlier  atmosphere  around  them — 
just  a  little  more  than  was  theirs  already,  and 
happiness  would  seem  to  be  within  their  grasp. 
But  from  these  vain  dreamings  our  Lord  turned 
away  their  thoughts.  He  led  them  into  calmer  and 
serener  air.  The  breezes  round  them  were  healthier 
and  more  invigorating  than  those  which  met  them  in 
the  dreamland  of  their  ambitions  and  their  cares. 
He  told  them  that  they  possessed  capacities  for 
happiness  which  they  had  hardly  used  and  which 
they  little  realised.  In  the  exercise  of  their  inward 
faculties,  in  the  cultivation  of  better  dispositions,  in 
the  freer  working  of  these  deep  impulses  towards 
good  which  had  been  checked  and  neglected,  in 
realising  the  joy  of  growing  to  be  better  men,  they 
might  find  a  gladness  which  had  escaped  them 
hitherto.  He  told  them  of  unfathomed  depths  of 
joy  and  higher  capacities  of  happiness  than  they  had 
ever  known.  Thus  He  sought  to  detach  them  from 
the  grasp  of  the  world,  from  the  tyrannous  passion 
of  acquisition,  from  the  melancholy  power  of  discon- 
tent. He  told  them  that  there  was  work  before 
them  which  was  worthy  of  their  ambition.  He 
assured  them  that  they  might  be  powers  in  the 
world.  He  pointed  to  their  capacities,  and  urged 
them  to  turn  them  to  use :  "  Ye  are  the  salt  of  the 
earth.  Ye  are  the  light  of  the  world." 
134 


KNOWN  AND  UNKNOWN  INFLUENCE 

Thus  from  the  conditions  of  happiness,  He  passes 
to  the  duties  of  usefulness.  From  the  beatitudes, 
He  points  to  the  range  of  human  influence.  And 
naturally  so,  for  man  is  so  made  that  his  happiness 
is  not  possible  except  in  exertion.  As  the  universe 
teaches  not  simply  eternal  being,  but  an  eternal 
becoming;  so  man  cannot  find  rest  in  stagnation, 
but  in  the  congenial  exercise  of  his  powers.  He 
cannot  be  happy  in  the  mere  possession  of  capacity. 
He  needs  to  use  it.  This  capacity  our  Lord  speaks 
of  under  two  emblems,  light  and  salt :  "  Ye  are  the 
salt  of  the  earth.     Ye  are  the  light  of  the  world." 

We  can  see  the  appropriateness  of  the  imagery. 
For  the  virtue  and  value  of  both  light  and  salt  are  in 
their  diffusive  power ;  the  one  spreading  illumination 
and  the  other  health.  The  one  enlightening:  the 
other  preserving. 

i.  Let  us  invert  the  order,  and  take  first  the  more 
usual  emblem — light:  "Ye  are  the  light  of  the 
world." 

The  meaning  is  simple.  We  grasp  it  best  perhaps 
by  recalling  the  men  who  have  shone  as  lights  in  the 
world.  We  must  think  not  so  much  of  the  splendour 
which  invests  the  names  of  men  like  Socrates  and 
Plato,  Solon  and  Lycurgus,  Newton  and  Harvey,  as 
of  the  light  which  these  in  their  various  ways  cast 
upon  human  life — enlarging  the  range  of  knowledge, 
US 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

clearing  what  was  obscure ;  revealing  order  where 
before  there  was  but  chaos.  From  these  men  there 
streamed  beams  which  brightened  the  earth  and 
made  the  pathway  of  men  clearer  and  safer.  We 
can  see  that  the  influence  of  these  men  was  the 
result  of  a  determined,  vigorous,  and  systematic 
concentration  of  their  powers  upon  one  object.  The 
quality  of  their  influence  as  light  was  the  possession 
of  a  certain  definite  message  or  truth  for  men  and 
the  energy  to  express  it.  Conscious  vigour  directed 
their  action.  Thought  and  force  combined  to  dis- 
close and  to  diffuse  light  among  men. 

But  men  such  as  these  are  not  the  only  luminaries 
of  the  world.  The  light  which  spread  from  these 
men  was  mainly  light  in  intellectual  matters.  From 
them  came  the  vigorous  thought  which  forced  its 
way  into  untrodden  realms,  and  enlarged  the  empire 
of  human  knowledge  by  the  annexation  of  fresh 
kingdoms.  But  there  have  been  lights  of  another 
sort.  There  have  been  men  who  shed  light  upon 
the  moral  life  of  mankind.  Besides  philosophers 
like  Aristotle  and  discoverers  like  Galileo,  there  have 
been  prophets  like  Moses  and  Elijah,  like  John  the 
Baptist  and  Savonarola.  From  these  have  radiated 
a  light  which  has  penetrated  the  consciences  of  men, 
and  has  brought  realms  of  human  nature  under  the 
sovereignty  of  moral  influence.  This  light,  seeing 
136 


KNOWN  AND  UNKNOWN  INFLUENCE 

that  it  is  ethical,  comes  with  even  greater  energy 
than  mere  intellectual  light.  Such  men  are  not 
merely  lights,  they  are,  as  our  Lord  described  John 
the  Baptist,  burning  and  shining  lights.  The  beams 
which  spread  from  them  pierce  into  recesses  of  the 
human  heart  which  Plato  and  Bacon  were  powerless 
to  reach. 

Now  a  power  of  this  kind  Christ  claims  on  the 
part  of  all  His  followers.  When  He  says  "  Ye  are 
the  light  of  the  world/'  He  means  that  there  is  in 
every  man  the  capacity  to  be  a  light  in  his  day.  As 
men  of  greatness  have  by  vigour  and  concentration 
spread  their  influence  in  the  world,  so  may  every 
man,  who  will  bend  his  mind  and  will  to  the  matter, 
become  the  bearer  of  some  message  to  his  brother 
men.  Light  clear,  distinct  and  encouraging,  may 
shine  from  every  human  life,  and  may  make  the 
pathway  of  a  brother-man  clearer  and  easier.  It  is 
true  that  it  is  not  given  to  every  man  to  make  fresh 
discoveries,  but  every  man  may  be  a  witness  to  the 
moral  order  of  the  universe,  to  the  true  grounds  of 
happiness,  to  the  responsibility  of  life. 

And  here  let  no  one  say  that  all  cannot  be  lights, 
because  all  cannot  be  great.  The  brilliancy  of  the 
lights  may  differ  as  one  star  diflereth  from  another 
star  in  glory,  but  all  may  shine  as  lights  in  the 
world.  The  brilliancy  of  the  light  depends  upon  the 
U7 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

quality  or  quantity  of  the  stuff  composing  the  candle ; 
but  the  question  is  not  of  the  splendour  of  the  candle 
when  lighted,  but  of  the  fact  whether  it  is  alight  or 
not.  Some  men  have  qualities  and  capacities  which 
may  make  them  apostles,  evangelists,  doctors  and 
pastors.  They  have  their  gifts,  one  after  this 
manner,  another  after  that.  The  range  of  their 
influence  may  be  in  proportion  to  their  gifts,  just  as 
the  circle  of  light  from  the  candle  may  be  smaller  or 
larger.  But  the  range  of  possible  influence  is  one 
thing  :  the  exertion  of  whatever  influence  we  may 
possess  is  another.  Indeed,  usefulness  is  not  iden- 
tical with  brilliancy.  The  farthing  candle  has  been 
enough  to  light  the  philosopher  as  he  penned  his 
deathless  treatise,  while  splendid  lights  have  often 
only  lighted  men  through  gaiety  to  death.  What 
our  Lord  insists  on  is  that  men  are  capable  of  dif- 
fusing light.  It  is  possible  to  make  the  life  shed  a 
steady  and  unmistakable  light  among  men.  The 
quality  may  not  be  the  richest,  the  quantity  may  be 
scant,  but  if  the  taper  be  lighted,  the  duty  which 
God  asks  has  been  done.  The  foolish  virgins  were 
not  blamed  because  the  light  they  carried  was  feeble, 
but  because  they  allowed  their  lamps  to  go  out. 
Therefore  Christ  says  to  all — "  Let  your  light  shine. 
Let  it  be  placed  where  it  can  be  seen."  u  Neither 
do  men  light  a  lamp  and  put  it  under  the  bushel,  but 
138 


KNOWN  AND  UNKNOWN  INFLUENCE 

on  the  stand  ;  and  it  shineth  unto  all  that  are  in  the 
house." 

The  powers  of  life  are  to  be  used.  The  influence 
we  possess  should  be  felt. 

"  If  our  virtues  did  not  go  forth  of  us,  'twere  all 
alike  as  if  we  had  them  not."  We  must  not  be 
passive  spectators,  but  active  agents  in  life.  We 
must  consciously  and  deliberately  do  all  we  can  to 
diffuse  in  the  world  the  light  of  juster  conceptions  of 
God,  of  life,  and  of  duty.  Our  will,  strength,  and 
intelligence  should  be  enlisted  in  making  religion  a 
felt  power,  that  by  character  and  conduct  we  may 
shine  as  lights  in  the  world. 

ii.  But  Christ  also  said,  "  Ye  are  the  salt  of  the 
earth."  There  is  a  resemblance  between  the  two 
emblems — light  and  salt.  Both  are  useful.  The 
one  illuminates ;  the  other  preserves.  Both  make 
their  usefulness  operative  by  diffusion  of  their  powers. 
But  they  offer  contrasts  as  well  as  resemblances  ; 
for  the  power  which  renders  the  candle  useful  is  the 
light  which  is  communicated  to  it  from  without, 
while  the  power  which  makes  the  salt  useful  is  the 
quality  of  saltness  which  belongs  to  it  by  nature. 
The  one  acts  by  an  acquired  force,  the  other  by  an 
inherent  power.  Further,  in  process  of  time,  the 
candle  wastes  away  ;  as  the  light  bums  the  sub- 
stance of  the  candle  vanishes.  Its  outward  form 
i39 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

perishes.  The  disappearance  of  the  light  is  one 
with  the  wasting  of  its  substance.  But  with  salt 
the  quality  may  disappear  while  the  substance 
remains.  The  outward  appearance  may  be  just 
what  it  was  at  the  first,  but  the  virtue  may  have 
gone  from  it.  The  salt  may  be  there,  but  the  salt- 
ness  may  have  passed  out  of  it. 

The  influence  of  light  is  clear,  unmistakable ;  it 
displays  itself  by  its  own  light ;  it  can  be  seen  and 
observed.  The  influence  of  salt  is  more  subtle.  It 
spreads  unseen.  It  does  not  reveal  itself  to  the  eye. 
It  makes  its  presence  known  by  mingling  unseen 
in  other  substances.  Its  glory  is  that  we  rather 
note  its  absence  than  observe  its  presence.  Its 
function  is,  without  obtruding  itself,  to  make  food 
pleasant  and  palatable.  It  thus  becomes  the  fitting 
emblem  of  that  unconscious  influence  which  is  rather 
of  character  than  of  opinion.  As  light  represents 
the  distinct,  vigorous,  and  conscious  influence  of  the 
intellect,  and  of  the  will  in  active  agency :  so  salt 
represents  that  quiet,  unspoken,  felt,  but  unob- 
served influence  which  disposition  or  character  can 
exercise. 

The  influence  which  a  man  exercises  by  the  silent 
force  of  character  and  example  is  often  more  power- 
ful than  that  which  he  wields  by  conscious  and 
voluntary  effort.  He  exerts  his  conscious  influence 
140 


KNOWN  AND  UNKNOWN  INFLUENCE 

when  he  seeks  by  argument  and  persuasion  to 
change  men's  opinions  or  to  control  their  actions ; 
but  this  direct  form  of  attack  is  not  always  success- 
ful. It  may  be  resented,  and  even  when  it  seems 
most  successful,  it  only  wins  the  sullen  victory  of 
reluctant  assent.  But  what  is  not  yielded  to  argu- 
ment may  be  surrended  to  the  unspoken  power  of 
example.  The  father  in  the  house  may  have  no 
sort  of  power  over  the  growing  opinions  of  his  sons 
and  daughters.  They  listen  with  superficial  defer- 
ence to  his  demonstrations,  and  with  scarce  con- 
cealed amusement  to  his  arguments.  Disappointed 
to  find  that  he  fails  to  carry  them  with  him,  he 
might  sadly  conclude  that  his  influence  in  the  home 
was  reduced  to  a  cypher.  But  he  would  be  wrong. 
The  fresh  minds  of  the  young  generation  cannot 
accept  his  views  :  the  view-point  of  the  world  has 
changed ;  the  intellectual  vantage-ground  is  no 
longer  the  same.  But  harmony  of  opinions  is  not 
the  same  as  sympathy  of  spirit ;  and  reverence, 
affection,  devotion,  still  remain  and,  in  the  hands 
of  a  true-hearted,  upright,  loving  man,  are  weightier 
than  arguments  in  the  lips  of  petulant  wisdom. 

It    is   character   which   gives   force   to   wisdom. 

Ability  without  character  has  often  failed  to  win  its 

way.     Peisistratus,  we  read,  was  courteous,  liberal, 

affable,  his  tongue  full  of  kindly  inquiries  after  the 

141 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

sick  and  unfortunate,  his  language  soft  and  modest, 
his  gardens  thrown  open  to  the  public  ;  but  there 
was  one  fatal  flaw.  Solon  told  him  that  if  his  virtue 
had  been  genuine,  he  would  have  been  the  best 
citizen  in  Athens.  The  coin  shone  well  and  was  of 
correct  weight,  but  it  lacked  the  true  ring.  The 
light  was  there,  but  the  salt  was  wanting.  The 
conscious  influence  was  correct ;  the  unconscious 
influence  betrayed  its  own  unreality.  The  same 
thought  was  expressed  somewhat  differently  by  an 
eminent  English  judge,  who  said  :  "  A  man's  reputa- 
tion in  England  depends  on  his  knowledge,  his 
eloquence,  and  his  character."  He  recognised  that 
light  without  salt  might  meet  with  admiration,  but 
could  not  secure  respect.  It  is  true ;  for  we  look 
that  men  should  be  good  as  well  as  great.  Thought 
and  energy  are  not  sufficient  to  inspire  our  confi- 
dence. It  is  the  moral  force  behind  these  which 
awakens  our  trust.  When  a  noble  and  spiritual 
character  speaks  noble  thoughts  in  noble  words  the 
people  listen  ;  their  hearts  and  consciences  respond. 
Such  a  man  can  rebuke  wickedness  with  some  hope 
of  provoking  shame.  Mere  ability,  speaking  on  moral 
questions,  can  awaken  at  best  a  tame  acquiescence  ; 
it  may  stir  only  an  unwholesome  mirth. 

Now  these  two  forces,  the  conscious  and  uncon- 
scious, the  conscious  exercise  of  all  our  powers  for 
142 


KNOWN  AND  UNKNOWN  INFLUENCE 

good  supported  by  the  unconscious  influence  of 
sincere  and  devoted  character,  Christ  claims  for  all. 
These  two  sorts  of  influence  every  man  may  use. 
By  the  one  he  can  be  light :  by  the  other  he  can  be 
salt  in  the  earth. 

"  Ye  are  the  salt  of  the  earth  :  ye  are  the  light  of 
the  world."  The  healing  influence  of  character  and 
the  illuminating  power  of  truth  are  both  in  the  hands 
of  men.  Both  are  needful  to  give  the  highest  and 
widest  range  to  human  influence,  and  both  act  and 
react  upon  one  another.  Our  thoughts  influence  our 
characters ;  and  our  characters  sway  our  thoughts. 
As  we  think  we  are,  is  one  side  of  the  truth  ;  as  we 
are  we  think,  is  another.  "  Stipend,"  said  the  frank- 
spoken  Scotch  minister,  "  has  a  verra  strong  influence 
on  metapheesics."  Noble  thoughts,  read,  received, 
lived  up  to,  are  a  perpetual  appeal  to  the  moral 
nature,  and  help  in  its  formation.  It  is  important  to 
think  truly  :  it  is  important  to  be  true. 

But  the  danger  which  besets  character  is  more 
subtle  than  the  danger  which  besets  opinion.  The 
unconscious  influence  of  life  is  perhaps  more  readily 
injured  than  its  conscious  influence.  The  moral 
powers  arc  even  more  delicate,  more  susceptible  of 
damage  and  deterioration  than  arc  the  intellectual. 
We  can  hardly  degenerate  in  physical  power  without 
being  aware  of  it.  We  can  hardly  degenerate  in 
M3 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

intellectual  force  without  meeting  with  some  failure 
to  remind  us  of  it.  But  we  may  degenerate  in  moral 
force,  and  not  know  it.  Like  Samson,  we  may  rest 
in  the  lap  of  pleasure  while  our  moral  vigour  is  being 
slowly  impaired.  We  may  sleep  and  wake,  and  we 
may  think  to  go  about  our  work  as  at  other  times, 
and  not  be  aware  of  the  terrible  change  which  has 
fallen  upon  us.  But  power,  the  most  priceless  power 
of  all,  moral  power,  the  very  sceptre  of  our  being, 
has  slipped  from  our  grasp.  The  sentence  of  doom 
is  often  written  against  a  man,  though  he  knows  it 
not.  "  He  wist  not,"  so  it  is  written  of  Samson, 
"  that  the  Lord  was  departed  from  him  "  (Judges 
xvi.  20).  It  is  this  enfeeblement,  which  creeps  upon 
a  man  before  he  is  aware  of  it,  which  our  Lord 
touches  on  here.  Salt  is  good,  "  but  if  the  salt  have 
lost  his  savour,  wherewith  shall  it  be  salted  ? " 
(Matt.  v.  13.)  The  evaporation  has  taken  place. 
The  virtue  has  gone  out  of  the  mass.  In  appearance 
it  is  just  what  it  was  before.  In  fact  it  is  very 
different.  It  is  no  longer  the  healing,  preserving, 
beneficent  product.  It  is  a  whited  mass  of  useless- 
ness.  It  is  fit  for  nothing.  The  change  has  come, 
but  the  change  has  left  the  appearance  unchanged. 
The  change  is  not  noticeable.  This  is  the  awful 
part  of  the  process.  A  change  in  opinions  is  known 
and  recognised ;  the  man  himself  is  aware  when  he 
144 


KNOWN  AND  UNKNOWN  INFLUENCE 

has  altered  his  views.  But  his  character  may  alter, 
and  he  may  dream  that  he  is  the  same  man  which  he 
was  before.  But  as  a  fact  the  strongest  and  sweetest 
part  of  his  influence  has  departed.  He  may  be  just 
as  liberal  in  his  donations,  he  may  be  just  as  often 
to  the  front  in  works  of  beneficence,  he  may  be  as 
frequently  on  philanthropic  and  religious  platforms, 
but  the  whole  moral  tone  of  the  man  is  altered. 
The  sacrifice  may  be  seen  in  the  life,  but  the  sacrifice 
is  without  the  salt.  The  speech  may  be  as  ardently 
pious  as  before,  but  the  speech  is  no  longer  seasoned 
with  the  salt  of  personal  piety.  It  has  become 
goody  instead  of  good.  It  is  offensive,  for  it  lacks 
the  genuineness  which  personal  devoutness  alone 
can  give. 

These  two,  salt  and  light — what  forces  they  are  in 
human  life !  Every  man  who  can  speak  and  act 
among  his  fellow-men  may  be  a  centre  of  light. 
Every  man  who  comes  into  contact  with  his  fellow- 
men  brings  to  them  a  clean  or  an  unclean  influence. 
There  is  the  influence  of  word  and  deed,  which  wc 
hear  and  know,  accept  or  reject  :  but  there  is  also 
the  subtle,  ethical  contagion,  which  may  leave  us  the 
better  or  the  worse  almost  without  our  knowledge. 
The  unwholesome  influence  of  the  impure  character, 

Like  a  new  disease,  unknown  to  men, 

Creeps— no  precautions  used — among  the  crowd. 

us  " 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

Who  would  not  fear  lest,  though  no  words  were 
spoken,  his  very  presence  carried  a  sort  of  moral 
u  death  among  men  "  ?  Who  would  not  wish  that 
his  influence  might  always  be  fresh,  pure,  health- 
giving,  like  salt  adding  new  flavour  and  force  to  all 
that  was  good  ?  We  can  understand  the  apostle's 
caution  :  "  Take  heed  unto  thyself  and  unto  the 
doctrine"  (i  Tim.  iv.  16).  Take  heed  what  your 
known  and  active  influence  may  be.  Take  heed  to 
yourself  that  your  unconscious  influence  may  be 
clean  and  good  also.  Conduct  is  more  than  creed, 
and  character  is  more  than  conduct.  Conduct 
commends  our  creed,  and  character  gives  force  to 
conduct. 

And  seeing  that  all  our  fresh  springs  are  in  God, 
must  it  not  be  that  in  nearness  to  Him  will  be  found 
the  secret  strength  of  character  ?  Wherewith  shall 
it  be  salted  when  once  the  saltness  has  departed  ? 
We  may  sadly  ask  the  question,  with  perhaps  the 
consciousness  that  we  have  deteriorated  in  moral 
force.  Are  our  lives  doomed  to  uselessness  ?  The 
salt  which  can  no  longer  give  flavour  to  the  bread  in 
the  house  is  fit  neither  for  the  land  nor  for  the  dung- 
hill. No  human  hand  can  restore  its  saltness.  The 
freshness  and  vigour  of  simple  and  genuine  character 
cannot  be  given  back  after  worldliness,  self-indul- 
gence, greed,  and  pleasure^loving  cruelty  have  done 
146 


KNOWN  AND  UNKNOWN  INFLUENCE 

their  work,  and  after  the  fresh  aspirations,  emotions, 
and  longings  after  good,  have  gone  away  like  the 
early  dew.  For  love — generous,  pure,  unselfish 
love — is  the  salt  of  human  character  ;  and  when  the 
love  has  passed  away  the  very  basis  of  character  has 
disappeared.  No  earthly  power  can  restore  sweet 
lovingness  to  the  dead,  world-killed  heart.  But  the 
things  which  are  impossible  with  man  are  possible 
with  God.  And  God,  who  "  commanded  the  light  to 
shine  out  of  darkness  "  (2  Cor.  iv.  6),  can  give  the 
hope  which  maketh  not  ashamed  and  "  shed  abroad 
the  love  of  God  in  our  hearts  by  the  Holy  Ghost 
which  is  given  unto  us  "  (Rom.  v.  5). 


147 


THE   INNER   IS   THE   HIGHER 


St.  Matt.  v.  17-end 

Think  not  that  I  am  come  to  destroy  the  law,  or  the  prophets.: 
I  am  not  come  to  destroy,  but  to  fulfil. 

For  verily  I  say  unto  you,  Till  heaven  and  earth  pass,  one  jot  or 
one  tittle  shall  in  no  wise  pass  from  the  law,  till  all  be  fulfilled. 

Whosoever  therefore  shall  break  one  of  these  least  command- 
ments, and  shall  teach  men  so,  he  shall  be  called  the  least  in  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  :  but  whosoever  shall  do  and  teach  them,  the 
same  shall  be  called  great  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 

For  I  say  unto  you,  That  except  your  righteousness  shall  exceed 
the  righteousness  of  the  scribes  and  Pharisees,  ye  shall  in  no  case 
enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 

Ye  have  heard  that  it  was  said  by  them  of  old  time,  Thou  shalt 
not  kill :  and  whosoever  shall  kill  shall  be  in  danger  of  the  judg- 
ment. 

But  I  say  unto  you,  That  whosoever  is  angry  with  his  brother 
without  a  cause  shall  be  in  danger  of  the  judgment  :  and  whoso- 
ever shall  say  to  his  brother,  Raca,  shall  be  in  danger  of  the 
council ;  but  whosoever  shall  say,  Thou  fool,  shall  be  in  danger  of 
hell  fire. 

Therefore  if  thou  bring  thy  gift  to  the  altar,  and  there  remem- 
berest  that  thy  brother  have  ought  again>t  thee  ; 

Leave  there  thy  gift  before  the  altar,  and  go  thy  way  ;  first  be 
reconciled  to  thy  brother,  and  then  come  and  offer  thy  gift 

Ye  have  heard  that  it  was  said  by  them  of  old  time,  Thou  shalt 
not  commit  adultery  : 

But  I  say  unto  you,  That  whosoever  looketh  on  a  woman  to  lust 
after  her,  hath  committed  adultery  with  her  already  in  his  heart. 

And  if  thy  right  eye  offend  thee,  pluck  it  out,  and  cast  it  from 
thee  :  for  it  is  profitable  for  thee  that  one  of  thy  members  should 
perish,  and  not  that  thy  whole  body  should  be  cast  into  hell 

It  hath  been  said,  Whosoever  shall  put  away  his  wife,  let  him 
give  her  a  writing  of  divorcement : 

But  I  say  unto  you,  That  whosoever  shall  put  away  his  wife, 
saving  for  the  cause  of  fornication,  causeth  her  to  commit  adultery  : 
and  whosoever  shall  marry  her  that  is  divorced  committeth  adultery. 

Again,  ye  have  heard  that  it  hath  been  said  by  them  of  old  time, 
Thou  shall  not  forswear  thyself,  but  shalt  perform  unto  the  Lord 
thine  oaths : 

But  I  say  unto  you,  Swear  not  at  all 

But  let  your  communication  be,  Yea,  yea  ;  Nay,  nay  :  for  what- 
soever is  more  than  these  cometh  of  evil. 

Ye  have  heard  that  it  hath  been  said,  An  eye  for  an  eye,  and  a 
tooth  for  a  tooth  : 

But  I  say  unto  you,  That  ye  resist  not  evil :  but  whosoever  shall 
smite  thee  on  thy  right  cheek,  turn  to  him  the  other  also 

Ye  have  heard  that  it  hath  been  said,  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neigh- 
bour, and  hate  thine  enemy. 

But  I  say  unto  you,  Love  your  enemies,  bless  them  that  curse 
you,  do  good  to  them  that  hate  you,  and  pray  for  them  which 
despitefully  use  you,  and  persecute  you 

For  if  ye  love  them  which  love  you,  what  reward  have  ye?  do 
not  even  the  publicans  the  same  ? 

And  if  ye  salute  your  brethren  only,  what  do  ye  more  than 
others  ?  do  not  even  the  publicans  so  ? 

Be  ye  therefore  perfect,  even  as  your  Father  which  is  in  heaven 
is  perfect. 


THE  INNER  IS  THE  HIGHER 

THE  section  of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  which 
lies  between  the  seventeenth  verse  and  the 
closing  verse  of  St.  Matthew  v.,  deals  with  one  sub- 
ject— Christ's  relation  to  the  Moral  Law. 

Christ  taught  a  higher  righteousness.  His  con- 
temporaries were  content  with  the  letter  of  the  law. 
He  insisted  on  its  spirit.  They  thought  that  an 
external  conformity  was  sufficient ;  and  the  result  of 
this  idea  was  a  spirit  of  legal  quibbling  and  adroit 
evasion  of  principles.  Men  attained  the  art  of 
measuring  acts  and  ceremonial  observances  with  a 
faultless  nicety ;  while  the  heart  and  soul  were  left 
untouched  by  piety.  They  sought  what  was  out- 
ward.    Christ  demanded  what  was  within. 

It   must   be    remembered   that    this   principle   is 
double  edged.     It  seeks  the  inward  significance  of 
the   law,  as  well   as   inward  loyalty  of  the  h< 
The  question  has  been  asked  whether  Jesus  Christ 
did  not,  notwithstanding  His  protest  that   He  came 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

not  to  destroy  but  to  fulfil,  weaken  the  sense  of 
obligation  towards  the  law  ?  Did  He  not  emphasise 
certain  important  moral  commandments  and  leave 
other,  perhaps  lesser,  precepts  in  the  shadow  of 
doubt  ?  If  He  upheld  some  great  and  essential 
principles  of  the  law,  did  He  not  disparage  the  jot 
and  the  tittle  of  it  after  all  ? 

It  seems  clear  from  the  opening  words  of  this 
section  that  His  attitude  towards  the  law  had 
already  been  misunderstood  or  misinterpreted. 
His  teaching  had  been  a  free  and  a  joyous  teaching 
of  a  kingdom  which  was  at  hand.  There  were, 
doubtless,  some  who  read  in  His  words  some  latent 
hostility  to  existing  institutions  or  laws.  And  they 
were  right  if  they  read  in  Christ's  words  a  dissatis- 
faction with  the  tone  of  religious  life  of  His  day. 
But  they  were  wrong  if  they  imagined  that  He 
sought  to  destroy  the  moral  and  spiritual  code  of 
the  law.  Such  a  suspicion  Christ  seeks  to  dispel. 
"  Think  not  that  I  am  come  to  destroy  the  law  or 
the  prophets,"  He  says,  including  the  prophets  in 
His  message,  and  going  beyond  some  of  the  con- 
temporary Jews,  who  made  the  prophets  of  less 
account  than  the  law. 

There  is  a  double  explicitness  about  our  Lord's 
teaching.     He  did  not  come  to  destroy  the  law  or 
the  prophets ;  for  in  the  nature  of  the  case  these  are 
152 


THE  INNER  IS  THE  HIGHER 

indestructible — "  Till  heaven  and  earth  pass  away, 
one  jot  or  one  tittle  shall  in  no  wise  pass  away  from 
the  law,  till  all  things  be  accomplished  "  (Matt.  v. 
1 8,  Revised  Version).  But  further,  so  far  from 
weakening  or  destroying  the  law,  He  had  come  to 
give  it  ampler  and  fuller  meaning — "  For  I  say  unto 
you,  That  except  your  righteousness  shall  exceed  the 
righteousness  of  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  ye  shall 
in  no  case  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven " 
(Matt.  v.  20).  He  disclaims  any  attempt  to  destroy 
the  indestructible.  He  affirms  the  necessity  of  find- 
ing in  it  a  larger  and  richer  significance. 

1.  The  moral  law  is  indestructible.  It  is  of  the 
great  moral  and  spiritual  teaching  of  the  law  and  the 
prophets  which  our  Lord  is  speaking.  He  has  not 
at  the  moment  the  ceremonial  law  or  the  predictions 
of  prophets  in  mind.  It  is  of  righteousness,  the 
great  ethical  code  of  existence,  that  He  treats. 
This  will  be  clear,  if  we  read  the  whole  section, 
following  its  simple  and  obvious  suggestions.  It  is 
a  deep  spiritual  righteousness  which  He  seeks  to 
enforce.  It  must  be  a  righteousness  greater  than 
that  of  Scribes  and  Pharisees.  It  deals  not  with 
mint,  anise  and  cummin,  but  with  weightier  matters 
of  the  law.  It  must  be  a  righteousness  which 
touches  the  mainsprings  of  the  affections  and 
emotions.     The   examples   which   our    Lord    brings 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

forward  are  all  related  to  the  ethical  life.  The  laws 
of  murder  and  adultery  are  treated  of.  In  dealing 
with  these,  He  comments  on  commandments  in  the 
Decalogue ;  while  He  alludes  to  precepts  other  than 
those  of  the  Decalogue,  when  He  speaks  of  oaths 
(Ex.  xx.  7),  of  retribution  (Lev.  xxiv.  20),  and  of 
neighbourly  love  (Lev.  xix.  18).  But  all  His  allusions 
are  to  matters  ethical,  and  not  ceremonial.  This  is 
the  law  which  is  indestructible.  The  ceremonial  law 
dealt  with  types  and  shadows  and  decaying  things 
which  were  ready  to  vanish  away  (Heb.  viii.  13). 
Coleridge  said,  "The  outward  service  of  ancient 
religion,  the  rites,  ceremonies  and  ceremonial  vest- 
ments of  the  old  law,  had  morality  for  their  sub- 
stance. They  were  the  letter  of  which  morality 
was  the  spirit ;  the  enigma  of  which  morality  was 
the  meaning.  But  morality  itself  is  the  service  and 
ceremonial  of  the  Christian  religion."  "  Pure 
religion,"  writes  St.  James,  using  a  word  which 
expresses  the  outward  show  of  worship,  a  pure 
culture,  "  and  undefiled  before  God  and  the  Father 
is  this,  To  visit  the  fatherless  and  widows  in  their 
affliction,  and  to  keep  himself  unspotted  from  the 
world  "  (James  i.  27).  The  apostle  claims  for  the 
new  Dispensation,  as  Archbishop  Trench  said,  a 
superiority  over  the  old  in  that  its  very  O^GKtia 
(religion — culture)  consists  in  acts  of  mercy,  of  love 
i54 


THE  INNER  IS  THE  HIGHER 

and  of  holiness,  in  that  it  has  light  for  its  garment, 
its  very  robe  being  righteousness.  Thus  the  out- 
ward form  of  religion  may  perish,  but  its  inward  man 
is  renewed.  The  ethical  quality  abides  when  the 
ceremonial  aspect  alters. 

The  law  in  its  noble,  ethical  sense,  Christ  did  not 
come  to  destroy.  This  law  was  written  on  stone, 
on  the  imperishable  red  granite — the  symbol  of  their 
enduring  character.  There  is  no  change  in  the 
moral  law.  The  basis  of  moral  life  remains  the 
same  from  age  to  age.  While  science  extends  her 
borders  and  wins  new  conquests  from  the  cloud- 
covered  realms  of  the  universe,  there  are  no  new 
discoveries  in  morality.  The  duties  of  man  to  man 
and  of  man  to  God  remain.  No  changes  of  time, 
no  enlargement  of  knowledge,  can  weaken  their 
obligation.  But  though  time  cannot  alter  the  moral 
laws,  subtle  distinction,  fierce  partisanship,  greedy 
self-interest,  may  blind  men  to  their  application. 
Too  often  the  complete  application  of  these  laws 
has,  in  the  interest  of  a  cause  or  the  supposed 
interests  of  religion,  been  set  aside.  The  old 
heathen  held  his  right  arm  aloft  out  of  the  bap- 
tismal water,  refusing  to  consecrate  to  holier  uses 
the  arm  which  had  struck  down  his  foes,  and  which 
should  do  so  again.  He  at  least  declined  to  pre- 
tend to  accept  Christ's  complete  sovereignty  over 
>55 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

him.  But  many  baptised  Christians  keep  up  the 
show  of  faith  in  Christ,  and  yet  break  the  law 
which  Christ  consecrated  by  His  sanction.  We 
cannot  too  often  or  too  loudly  proclaim,  in  the  ears 
of  Christian  Churches  and  Christian  men,  these 
words  of  our  Lord — "  1  came  not  to  destroy  the  law." 
ii.  So  far  from  destroying  the  law,  or  weakening 
its  force  or  annulling  any  of  its  moral  principles, 
Christ  came  to  give  it  deeper  and  fuller  meaning. 
He  infused  into  it  fresh  vitality  by  spiritualising  its 
application  and  so  enlarging  its  scope.  The  re- 
mainder of  the  chapter  (Matt,  v.),  from  the  twenty- 
first  verse  to  the  end,  contains  illustrations  of  this 
enlargement  and  deepening  of  the  force  of  the  law. 
The  least  commandment,  or  what  men  deemed  the 
least  important  commandment,  was  still  a  divine 
commandment.  To  break  it,  or  to  teach  principles 
which  tend  to  break  it  or  ignore  it,  was  to  forfeit 
place  in  the  kingdom.  The  perception  of  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  kingdom  was  the  justification  for  the 
kingdom.  To  ignore  the  principles  was  to  show 
that  the  loyal  spirit  was  some  way  lacking.  The 
child-spirit  reverenced  the  Father's  will,  and  the 
least  thing  which  implied  lack  of  such  reverence 
would  be  hostile  to  the  son-like  spirit.  The  Phari- 
sees measured  obedience  by  the  how  much  and  how 
little ;  they  weighed  obedience  and  disobedience  as 
156 


THE  INNER  IS  THE  HIGHER 

though  they  were  quantities  measurable  by  the 
scales  of  some  curious  inquisitor.  They  did  not 
see  that  the  son-like  spirit  was  essential  to  the 
higher  righteousness,  and  that  no  obedience  of  an 
external  kind  could  compensate  for  the  lack  of  that 
spirit.  Such  base  and  formal  obedience  as  meant 
a  bold  eye  and  a  proud  glance,  or  the  thought,  M  I 
am  better  than  thou,"  was  no  true  obedience  of  the 
laws  of  the  divine  kingdom.  That  kingdom  asked 
the  obedience  of  a  loyal,  loving,  filial  heart — an 
obedience  far  removed  from  the  Pharisaic  range  of 
thought — n  I  say  unto  you  that,  except  your  right- 
eousness exceed  the  righteousness  of  the  Scribes 
and  Pharisees,  ye  shall  in  no  case  enter  into  the 
kingdom  of  heaven."  If  we  ask  wherein  the  right- 
eousness of  the  kingdom  exceeded  that  of  the 
Scribes  we  shall  find  the  answer  in  the  illustrations 
and  examples  which  follow.  Christ  takes  the  com- 
mandments respecting  murder,  adultery,  swearing, 
retribution,  neighbourly  duty,  and  in  each  case 
shows  their  higher  and  truer  meaning  in  contrast 
with  the  traditional  glosses  and  interpretations. 

(i.)  The  law  of  murder. 

"  Ye  have  heard  that  it  was  said  to  [not  />r,  as  in 

the  Authorised   Version]   them  of  old  time,  Thou 

shalt  not  kill;  and  whosoever  shall  kill  shall  be  in 

danger  of    the    judgment."      Such    is  our  Lord's 

W 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

account  of  the  law  as  understood  by  His  hearers. 
He  is  clearly  putting  in  brief  form  the  current  view 
of  the  law  of  murder.     We  need  hardly  ask  who 
are  they  whom  Christ  describes  as  "  them  of  old 
time."     The  law,  "Thou  shalt  not  kill,"  was  given 
in  the  early  days  of  the   Israelitish  history.     The 
commandment  must  have  been  familiar  to  all  Jews. 
The   establishment    of    the   synagogues,    after    the 
return  from  Babylon,  gave  the  opportunity  of  in- 
struction to  the  people  in  every  district.     There  the 
fundamental  law,  "Thou  shalt  not  kill,"  would  be 
taught,  but,  in  addition,  the  penalty  which  awaited 
the   breach    of  the   law  would    be   explained.     To 
their  ancestors  both  the  law  and  the  penalty  had 
been  explained.     "  Whosoever  shall  kill  shall  be  in 
danger  of  the  judgment."     Dean  Plumptre  reminded 
his  readers  that  in  a.d.  i6ii  the  words  "shall  be  in 
danger   of"   possessed  a  more   distinctly  technical 
sense  than  they  convey  now.     They  meant,  "shall 
be    legally   liable    to."      There   were    judges    and 
officers  of  justice  in  all  towns,  and  to  these  was  en- 
trusted the  general  administration  of  justice.     Judg- 
ment  was   given    by   these    courts.     "Judges   and 
officers  shalt  thou  make  thee  in  all  thy  gates,  which 
the   Lord    thy   God   giveth    thee,    throughout    thy 
tribes ;   and  they  shall  judge  the  people  with  just 
judgment"  (Deut.  xvi.  18). 
158 


THE  INNER  IS  THE  HIGHER 

But  Christ  introduces  a  higher  view.  In  noble 
contrast  to  what  was  said  to  them  of  old,  our  Lord 
unfolds  the  deeper  and  more  spiritual  view.  "  But 
I  say  unto  you  " — we  cannot  overlook  the  calm  con- 
fidence with  which  He  speaks.  The  comments  and 
applications  of  earlier  teachers  are  brushed  aside. 
The  teachers  of  old  time  taught  this  limited  and 
insufficient  view.  They  supported  themselves  by 
references  and  authorities;  they  sought  legal  and 
verbal  justifications  of  their  opinions ;  they  loved  to 
amass  materials  in  support  of  their  view.  But  with 
one  word  Christ  reduces  all  this  laborious  method  to 
nothing.  He  speaks ;  He  relies  on  no  authority  ; 
He  seeks  no  rabbinical  justification ;  He  is  not 
afraid  to  expound  the  law  in  a  large  and  clear  sense ; 
He  reaches  down  to  foundation  thoughts  ;  He  speaks 
as  having  unquestioned  truth  to  declare ;  He  doubts 
not  that  the  consciences  of  those  who  hear  will 
respond  to  the  truth  when  once  it  is  unfolded.  u  I 
say  unto  you  that  every  one  who  is  angry  with  his 
brother  " — the  words  "  without  cause  "  are  wanting 
in  some  of  the  best  MSS. — u  shall  be  in  danger  of 
the  judgment  ;  and  whosoever  shall  say  to 
brother,  Raca,  shall  be  in  danger  of  the  council ;  and 
whosoever  shall  say,  Thou  fool,  shall  be  in  danger 
of  the  Gehenna  of  fire."  The  hearers  are  directed 
to  look  inward.  Any  one  who  saw  the  poor,  help- 
159 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

less,  silent  corpse  could  condemn  the  hand  which 
had  smitten  it  down.  For  any  one  can  be  wise  after 
the  event.  It  is  proverbial  unwisdom  which  is  only 
wise  enough  to  take  precautions  after  a  loss  has  been 
sustained.  A  truer  wisdom  seeks  the  sources  of 
calamity.  It  is  a  nobler  thing,  though  a  less  con- 
spicuous service,  to  prevent  a  calamity  than  to 
remedy  it.  To  the  cradle  of  wrongdoing,  accord- 
ingly, our  Lord  leads  His  hearers.  He  asks  them 
to  notice  the  heart.  Out  of  it  sprang  the  worst  evils 
of  life  (Matt.  xv.  19).  He  indicates  how  from  small, 
but  unchecked  emotions,  evil  words  and  actions 
spring.  There  is  first  the  emotion  of  anger ;  there 
is  next  the  heedless  word  of  contempt ;  there  is  then 
the  deliberate  utterance  of  more  fixed  dislike  or 
hatred.  The  irritated  feeling  breaks  into  words ; 
the  feeling,  cherished  and  given  expression  to,  passes 
at  length  into  a  more  established  hostile  animus;  for 
a  man  in  momentary  irritation  may  say  "  Raca  " — 
empty-head,  idiot — using  the  first  contemptuous 
word  which  is  at  hand ;  but  he  exhibits  a  sort  of 
malignant  judgment  when  he  declares  his  brother  to 
be  a  wicked  and  godless  fool.  This  is  the  distinc- 
tion which  according  to  Lightfoot  lies  between  the 
two  words — Raca  and  fool.  The  first,  Raca,  he 
explains  as  a  Jewish  nickname  ;  it  is  so  used  in  the 
Talmud ;  it  is  a  despiteful  title  to  a  despised  man. 
160 


THE  INNER  IS  THE  HIGHER 

So  Lightfoot,  who  gives  a  story  in  illustration : 
"Our  Rabbis  show  a  thing  done  with  a  religious 
man,  that  was  praying  in  the  highway :  by  comes  a 
great  man,  and  gives  him  the  time  of  the  day  :  but  he 
saluted  him  not  again  :  he  stayed  for  him,  till  he  had 
finished  his  prayer :  after  he  had  done  his  prayer, 
he  said  to  him,  '  Reka,  is  it  not  written  in  your 
law,  that  you  shall  take  heed  to  yourselves  ?  Had  I 
struck  off  thy  head  with  my  sword,  who  should  have 
required  thy  blood  ? '  And  so  goes  the  angry  man 
on."  Lightfoot  further  quotes  a  phrase  of  Irenaeus, 
which  in  his  view  comes  near  to  Raca,  "Qui 
exspuit  cerebrum,  a  man  that  hath  no  brains."  So 
Raca  signifies  a  man  empty,  whether  of  understand- 
ing or  goodness  (Lightfoot,  "  Erubhim  or  Miscel- 
lanies," Works,  vol.  iv.  pp.  27,  28).  u  Raca  "  denotes 
indeed  morosity,  and  lightness  of  manners  and  life  ; 
but  "  fool  "  judges  bitterly  of  the  spiritual  and  eternal 
state,  and  decreeth  a  man  to  certain  destruction 
(Lightfoot,  Works,  vol.  xi.  p.  109).  It  is  one  thing 
to  condemn  the  intellectual  weakness  of  a  brother : 
it  is  another  to  sit  in  judgment  on  his  moral  state. 
In  the  one  case  we  may  be,  and  probably  are,  wrong ; 
in  the  other  case,  we  arc  striving  to  climb  into 
heaven  on  the  supposition  that  our  brother  is  worthy 
of  hell.  But  worse,  we  are  hardening  our  hearts 
against  our  brother.  We  have  allowed  feelings  to 
161  l 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

find  expression  in  hasty  words,  and  we  have  allowed 
a  settled  dislike  to  utter  itself  in  words  of  harsh 
condemnation.  In  doing  so  we  have  barred  our 
hearts  with  iron  bars  against  our  brother,  and  we 
have  lost  the  power  of  doing,  him  justice.  All  who 
know  the  development  and  operations  of  the  heart 
know  how  quickly  we  may  pass  from  momentary 
irritation  to  passionate  language,  and  from  passionate 
language  into  a  fixed  attitude  of  unjust  hatred. 
Such  is  the  climax  of  the  heart's  emotions  which 
Christ  sketches.  He  stops  short  of  the  dark  final 
scene,  in  which  the  apt  hand  has  done  the  fatal 
injury.  But  we  all  know  that  behind  the  curtain 
that  last  scene  "may  be  enacted.  Our  Lord  does  not 
say  that  the  angry  thought  is  as  bad  as  the  murderous 
deed,  but  He  does  say  that  the  angry  thought  may 
be  the  first  stage  of  a  downward  career :  He  does 
say  that  disturbed  emotions,  angry  and  resentful 
feelings,  are  not  innocent,  and  may  be  dangerous. 
He  carries  the  law  back  into  the  arena  of  the  dis- 
positions. To  be  good,  it  is  needful  that  the  heart 
be  good. 

To  be  godlike  it  is  needful  not  only  that  the 
actions  should  be  blameless  but  that  the  thoughts  of 
the  heart  should  be  noble,  calm  and  generous.  Evil 
dispositions,  wrathful  sentiments  arising  from 
irritated  feelings,  bring  a  man  within  range  of  con- 
162 


THE  INNER  IS  THE  HIGHER 

demnation—  in  danger  of  judgment,  of  council,  of  the 
Gehenna  of  fire.  In  these  words,  judgment,  council, 
Gehenna  are  clear  allusions  to  Jewish  customs  and 
scenes.  The  judgment  takes  us  to  the  local  court : 
the  council  to  the  great  court  of  the  Sanhedrim  :  the 
Gehenna  of  fire  to  the  valley  of  Hinnom.  There  is  a 
climax  in  the  condemnation  as  there  had  been  in  the 
offences.  Lesser  offences  and  lesser  punishments 
were  in  the  hands  of  a  lower  tribunal  consisting 
of  seven  men.  Serious  offences  and  severe  penalties 
belonged  to  the  Sanhedrim.  Seventy,  or  more, 
members,  the  twenty-four  heads  of  the  priestly 
courses,  together  with  forty-six  (or  forty-eight)  elders 
or  scribes,  constituted  this  higher  national  court. 
Offences  such  as  blasphemy  came  within  their  cog- 
nizance ;  and  they  alone  had  the  power  of  ordering 
death  by  stoning,  and  from  their  sentence  there  was 
no  appeal.  By  their  order  Stephen  suffered  ;  and  of 
our  Lord  they  cried,  u  He  hath  spoken  blasphemy." 
Gehenna  is  the  Greek  form  of  Gehinnom,  the  Valley 
of  Hinnom,  the  narrow  gorge  on  the  south  of  Jeru- 
salem, always  associated  with  burnings  or  fires 
which  were  kindled  there.  There  in  degenerate  days 
children  had  been  made  to  pass  through  the  fire  of 
Moloch  (i  Kings  xi.  7;  2  Kings  \\i  |  ;  2  Chron. 
xxviii.  3;  xxxiii.  6).  Josiah  defiled  it  (2  Kings 
xxiii.  10-14),  and  in  later  times  it  was  the  spot  where 
163 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

the  refuse  of  the  city  was  destroyed.  The  place 
where  the  false  and  cruel  gods  had  been  worshipped 
became  the  place  where  useless  and  unclean  things 
were  destroyed.  Here  was  the  consuming  fire 
which  burned  continually.  It  became  the  image  of 
the  lot  of  the  reprobate.  It  was  the  common  sink 
of  the  whole  city ;  whither  all  filthiness  and  all  kind 

of  nastiness  met And  there  was  there  also  a 

continual  fire,  whereby  bones  and  other  filthy  things 
were  consumed,  lest  they  might  offend  or  infect 
the  city  (Lightfoot,  Works,  vol.  x.  p.  Si).  Christ 
teaches  that  where  the  fire  of  wrath  burns  fiercely 
in  a  man's  bosom,  the  man  is  in  danger  of  meeting 
fire.  Those  who  heat  the  flame  ten  times  hotter  are 
in  danger  of  being  themselves  consumed.  Norfolk 
counsels  Buckingham, 

"  Be  advised, 
Heat  not  a  furnace  for  your  foe  so  hot 
That  it  do  singe  yourself." 

King  Henry  VIII.  act  i.  sc.  i. 

But  Norfolk  was  only  warning  of  the  injury  which 
a  much  provoked  enemy  might  inflict.  There  is  a 
worse  injury  and  a  more  fearsome  burning  which 
heated  wrath  may  bring,  the  fire  which  he  brings  on 
himself.  The  inward  moral  wrong  which  persistent 
evil  habits  occasion  is  as  the  beginning  of  hell.  This 
is  the  burden  which  a  man's  own  misdeeds  lay  upon 
164 


THE  INNER  IS  THE  HIGHER 

him  and  yet  not  his  misdeeds  only,  but  also  indulged 
evil  dispositions.  "  In  that  mysterious  condition  of 
the  depraved  will,  compelled,  yet  free,  the  slave 
of  sinful  habit,  yet  responsible  for  every  act  of  sin, 
and  gathering  deeper  condemnation  as  the  power  of 
amendment  grows  less  and  less,  may  we  not  see," 
asked  Dean  Mansel,  "  some  possible  foreshadowing  of 
the  yet  deeper  guilt  and  the  yet  more  hopeless 
misery  of  the  worm  that  dieth  not  and  the  fire  that 
is  not  quenched?  "  (Bampton  Lectures,  pp.  157,  8). 

Having  thus  vividly  pictured  the  stages  of  growing 
wrath  and  the  darker  doom  to  which  it  must  lead, 
our  Lord  urges  the  habit  of  never  allowing  the  ill- 
feeling  time  to  grow  into  an  overmastering  passion. 
The  hour  of  worship,  which  He  assumes  to  be 
natural  to  His  hearers,  brings  the  opportunity  of 
self-vigilance.  The  man  is  about  to  approach  God 
in  worship.  As  he  does  so,  let  him  take  account 
of  himself.  Those  who  bear  the  vessels  of  the 
sanctuary  should  be  clean;  and  no  evil  which  can 
be  removed  should  be  suffered  to  linger  in  the 
heart  of  him  who  draws  near  to  God.  How  can 
a  man  with  son-like  confidence  approach  his 
Father  in  heaven,  while  his  bosom  swells  with  un- 
seemly wrath  or  is  the  arena  of  unbrothcrly  feelings? 

Yes,  if  even  in  the    sanctuary  itself   the   sense 
of  discord,  misunderstanding,  and  soreness  remain, 
165 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OP  CHRIST 

pause,  postpone  your  worship ;  seek  reconciliation 
with  your  brother  before  you  make  your  offering — 
11  If  therefore  thou  art  offering  thy  gift  at  the  altar, 
and  there  rememberest  that  thy  brother  hath  aught 
against  thee,  leave  there  thy  gift  before  the  altar, 
and  go  thy  way,  first  be  reconciled  to  thy  brother, 
and  then  come  and  offer  thy  gift."  First  the  brother, 
then  the  Father.  Every  son  of  God  comes  into  His 
presence  as  one  of  a  brotherhood.  And  at  all 
worship  God  seems  to  ask  of  each  worshipper,  How 
is  it  with  thy  brother  ?  The  thought  of  the  sacrifice 
of  Cain  rises  in  our  mind.  In  it  the  illustration  of 
the  wrathful  spirit  gains  force  from  the  remembrance 
of  the  deed  of  blood  which  followed.  God  receives 
no  sacrifice  from  the  soul  which  is  swelling  with 
wrath.  The  very  purpose  of  worship  is  lost  sight 
of,  when  no  self-questioning  goes  with  it.  The  value 
of  the  religious  ordinance  is  destroyed ;  the  sacrifice 
is  profaned.  The  spirit  of  self-deception  is  evoked 
when  we  persist  in  imagining  that  we  can  draw  near 
to  God,  when  we  in  spirit  are  far  from  love,  and 
are  casting  His  words  behind  us.  We  are  giving 
then  what  is  holy  to  the  dogs  :  the  beast  of  anger 
will  tread  the  spirit  of  worship  under  foot.  It  is 
vain  to  stay  in  the  sanctuary.  We  must  face  the 
wild  beast  and  slay  it.  We  must  go  and  be  recon- 
ciled to  our  brother,  and  then,  but  not  till  then,  offer 
166 


THE  INNER  IS  THE  HIGHER 

our  gift.  How  much  is  the  profit  of  worship  spoiled 
by  the  neglect  of  this  counsel  of  Christ  ?  How 
many  on  the  Sunday,  as  they  go  to  church,  ask  if  a 
brother  has  aught  against  them  ?  God,  we  say,  must 
come  first ;  His  worship  must  not  be  neglected. 
True,  but  reconciliation  is  worship,  and  so  Christ 
says,  "  First,  first  be  reconciled  to  thy  brother." 

Where  the  teaching  here  enunciated  is  not 
understood,  the  most  elementary  principle  of  true 
religion  has  yet  to  be  learned.  To  imagine  that 
sacrifice  is  everything,  or,  indeed,  anything  apart 
from  the  moral  condition  of  him  who  offers  it,  is  to 
degrade  religion  into  ceremonial,  and  to  rob  the  idea 
of  righteousness  from  our  notion  of  God.  Yet  this 
was  precisely  what  the  Jews  were  prone  to  do.  An 
error  in  ceremonial  was  more  than  a  defect  in  moral 
disposition.  It  was  the  same  with  the  religion  of 
Latium,  where  sacrificial  exactitude  was  everything 
and  the  heart  of  the  worshipper  nothing.  But 
Christ  demands  that  there  shall  be  harmony  between 
the  soul  and  the  act  of  worship  :  the  one  shall  be 
the  true  outcome  of  the  other.  The  Jews  provided 
that  a  sacrifice  might  be  postponed  where  the  o!V< 
owed  pecuniary  damages  to  his  brother  man;  but 
Christ  enlarges  the  obligation.  "  If  thy  brother  hath 
might  against  thee  !  M 

Our  Lord   further  enforces  the   thought   by  an 
167 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

illustration  which  takes  us  back  to  the  tribunal  of 
justice.  He  would  have  us  remember  the  strict 
justice  which  governs  all.  While  we  are  on  earth 
we  have  the  opportunity  of  living  in  loving  and 
brotherly  fashion  with  our  neighbours.  If  we  have 
wronged  them,  the  chance  as  well  as  the  duty  of 
reconciliation  is  ours.  If  we  have  acted  so  that  we 
have  changed  a  neighbour  into  an  enemy,  it  is  our 
wisdom  and  our  duty  to  seek  to  make  him  a  friend 
again.  Our  life  should  not  be  strewn  with  stones 
which  we  have  cast  in  our  brother's  way.  Still  less 
should  we  imagine  that  the  placing  of  such  stumbling- 
blocks  before  his  feet  is  no  matter.  If  of  every  idle 
word  men  shall  give  account,  how  much  more  must 
we  expect  to  be  called  to  account  for  those  angry, 
mischievous  words  or  malicious  acts  which  have 
made  life  harder  to  our  brother  men  ?  "  Agree  with 
thine  adversary  quickly,  whiles  thou  art  with  him  in 
the  way ;  lest  haply  the  adversary  deliver  thee  to 
the  judge,  and  the  judge  deliver  thee  to  the  officer, 
and  thou  be  cast  into  prison.  Verily  I  say  unto 
thee,  Thou  shalt  by  no  means  come  out  thence,  till 
thou  have  paid  the  uttermost  farthing."  There  is 
no  heaven  without  heavenly  dispositions.  He  who 
harbours  unbrotherly  feelings,  keeps  up  quarrels, 
ignores  the  injuries  which  he  may  have  done  to  his 
neighbours,  and  lives  therefore  in  indifference  to  the 
1 68 


THE  INNER  IS  THE  HIGHER 

law  of  love  which  is  the  law  of  the  divine  kingdom 
binding  man  to  man,  is  outside  the  kingdom,  and 
must  remain  for  ever  outside ;  for  the  hell  of  his 
own  heart  makes  every  place  hell.  If  we  set  beside 
this  picture  of  the  adversary  and  the  judge  that 
other  picture  which  Christ  gave  of  the  doom  of  those 
who  left  their  brethren  in  hunger,  in  sickness,  and 
in  prison,  we  get  the  two  sides  of  the  duty  of  love — 
one  the  duty  of  reconciliation,  the  other  the  duty  of 
practical  kindness.  In  both  cases  the  doom  comes 
not  because  of  actual  sin,  but  because  of  omitted 
duty ;  while  in  one  case  it  is  clear  that  the  true 
meaning  of  life  is  not  understood,  in  the  other  the 
true  spirit  of  love  is  not  at  work.  Love  should 
animate  the  heart.  We  should  live  by  it.  This  love 
should  be  free,  frank,  generous  and  kindly.  Indiffer- 
ence to  a  brother's  needs  or  injuries  should  be  impos- 
sible. Hence  in  our  Lord's  view  the  law  of  love  is 
violated  when  from  lack  of  brotherly  disposition  a 
man  wittingly  leaves  his  neighbour  to  perish ;  and 
the  sixth  commandment  is  broken  whenever  we 
harbour  those  angry  or  malevolent  feelings  which 
blind  us  to  the  bond  of  brotherhood  with  which  a 
fatherly  love  has  bound  man  to  man. 

(ii.)  The  law  of  adultery. 

Once  we  have  grasped  the  principle  which  our 
Lord  employs,  the  application  becomes  easy.  The 
169 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

principle  is  simple.  It  lies  in  the  word  love.  This 
carries  us  into  the  region  of  the  spirit ;  it  reminds 
us  that  the  act  has  its  significance  from  the  spirit. 
The  act  is  the  outward  and  visible  sign  of  what  has 
been  going  on  in  the  heart.  Where  love  is  true  and 
pure,  there  loyalty,  honour,  a  deep  and  reverent 
regard  for  the  brotherhood  will  be  found.  The  soul 
will  be  sensitive  to  a  disloyal  thought,  just  as  it  will 
repress  the  angry  feeling.  Love  triumphs  over 
wrath,  for  love  is  kind.  Love  also  triumphs  over 
lust,  for  it  purges  affection  of  its  earthliness.  Where 
the  dispositions  of  the  soul  are  pure  and  right,  there 
the  selfish,  greedy  look  will  not  be  seen.  Where 
desire  is  sundered  from  the  true  love  which  seeks 
the  good  of  its  object,  there  is  sin.  Christ  speaks 
indeed  of  one  form  of  sin,  but  the  principle  is 
true  of  many  others.  Whenever  men  are  re- 
garded and  used  as  the  means  of  gratifying  some 
greedy  and  selfish  desire,  whenever  selfishness 
makes  us  forget  the  good  of  those  whom  we  employ 
for  our  comfort  and  ease,  there  sin  is  not  lacking  : 
desire  is  sundered  from  love.  Pure  love  would 
rather  endure  any  pain  or  privation  than  make  men 
the  victims  of  selfishness.  Therefore  it  follows — 
"  If  thy  right  eye  causeth  thee  to  stumble,  pluck  it 
out,  and  cast  it  from  thee  ;  for  it  is  profitable  for 
thee  that  one  of  tvy  members  should  perish,  and 
170 


THE  INNER  IS  THE  HIGHER 

not  thy  whole  body  be  cast  into  Gehenna.  And  if 
thy  right  hand  causeth  thee  to  stumble,  cut  it  off, 
and  cast  it  from  thee ;  for  it  is  profitable  for  thee 
that  one  of  thy  members  should  perish,  and  not  thy 
whole  body  go  into  Gehenna."  The  words,  it  is 
needless  to  say,  are  not  to  be  taken  literally ;  the 
plucking  out  of  the  physical  eye  would  not  cure  the 
wandering  desire  ;  the  cutting  off  of  the  right  hand 
would  not  banish  selfish  dispositions.  Some,  indeed, 
have  taken  the  words  literally,  and  have  acted  as 
though  bodily  dismemberment  was  equivalent  to 
spiritual  safety.  What  is  meant  is  that  all  the 
powers  of  body,  soul,  and  life  may  be  made  instru- 
ments of  wrong ;  and  that  it  is  better  therefore  to 
forego  whatever  is  innocent  in  itself  if  it  becomes  a 
cause  of  evil  to  us. 

Here  we  touch  a  great  principle  which,  perhaps, 
more  than  any  other  the  religious  world  has  found 
it  difficult  to  understand.  The  principle  is  that  if 
any  man  finds  certain  things,  innocent  in  themselves, 
the  cause  of  spiritual  injury  to  him,  he  had  better 
abandon  them.  This  involves  the  thought  that  one 
man  may  find  injury  where  another  finds  none. 
The  right  eye  may  cause  offence  to  one ;  the  right 
hand  may  be  the  cause  to  another.  The  sacrifice  in 
the  one  case  is  not  the  same  as  in  the  other  !  Iftetf 
man  must  sacrifice  that  which  proves  to  be  a  snare 
171 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

to  himself.  Music,  art,  the  drama,  meat  and  drink  are 
in  themselves  innocent ;  but  all  may  become  snares 
to  men,  though  not  all  to  every  man.  In  so  far  as 
we  find  them  becoming  ministers  of  harm  to  us, 
let  us  be  ready  to  sacrifice  taste  and  inclination  to 
preserve  moral  vigour  and  purity ;  but  let  us  not 
insist  that  the  sacrifice  which  is  needful  for  us  is 
essential  to  the  religious  life  of  others.  And  yet  let 
all  remember  that  there  are  few  to  whom  some 
right  hand  or  right  eye  may  not  bring  temptation. 

Alongside  the  question  of  purity  of  desire,  Christ 
places  the  question  of  divorce.  The  dissolution 
of  the  marriage  tie  among  the  Jews  was  practically 
allowed  on  the  "most  trivial  occasions.  As  a  fact, 
mere  lightness,  fickleness,  the  decay  of  the  old 
love,  or  the  lighting  of  new  desire  led  to  divorce. 
Christ  has  touched  upon  this  wandering  desire.  The 
look  was  sin ;  yet  this  passing  desire  was  in  Jewish 
customs  allowed  a  legal  opportunity  of  indulgence. 
When  tired  of  his  wife  or  attracted  by  some  one  else, 
a  man  might  by  a  stroke  of  the  pen  get  rid  of  the 
inconvenient  wife. 

The  transition  in  the  verses  now  becomes 
clear.  The  look  of  lust  is  sin.  But  it  was  said, 
"Whosoever  shall  put  away  his  wife,  let  him 
give  her  a  writing  of  divorcement."  This  came  to 
mean  the  permission  to  any  man  who  had  a  new 
172 


THE  INNER  IS  THE  HIGHER 

fancy,  to  gratify  it  at  the  expense  of  the  wife  whom 
he  was  bound  to  sustain  and  cherish.     This   was 
sin  :  it  was  adultery,  though  carried  on  under  quasi 
legal  sanction.     M  But  I  say  unto  you,  that  every  one 
that  putteth  away  his  wife,  saving  for  the  cause  of 
fornication,  maketh  her  an  adulteress  ;  and  whoso- 
ever shall  marry  her  when   she  is  put  away  com- 
mitteth  adultery."     Jewish  opinion  was  divided  as 
to  the  grounds  on  which  divorce  was  permissible. 
The  school  of  Hillel  was  lax.     A  man  might  get  rid 
of  his  wife  if  her  habits  were  bad,  or  if  she  did  not 
cook  to  her  husband's  satisfaction.     The  passage  in 
Deut.  xxiv.  I   was  quoted  to  justify  his  putting  her 
away  if  he  met  any  one  who  was  more  pleasing  in 
his  eyes.     The  school  of  Shammai  took   a  stricter 
and  nobler  view.     A  man  ought  not  to  put  away  his 
wife,  except  for  adultery.     Our  Lord's  view  is  in 
harmony   with   this    teaching.     The    laxity  of  the 
other  school  He  condemns.     The  letter  kills ;  the 
spirit  gives  life.     And  He  taught  His  disciples  to 
look  inward,  to  catch  the  spirit  of  the  law,  and  to 
judge  themselves  not  by  conformity  to  some  quib- 
bling  interpretation,  but    by   the   dispositions  and 
affection  of  the  heart.      In  listening  to  Christ,  we 
pass   into  a   higher  region  :    the    small,   technical 
and  verbal  arguments  of  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees 
disappear.     We  feel  that   the   character  cannot  be 
>73 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

measured  by  the  standard  of  an  attorney  but  by  its 
general  moral  attitude  towards  righteousness  and 
love. 

(iii.)  The  law  of  speech. 

Our  Lord  introduces  His  teaching  on  this  matter 
by  reference  to  the  existing  customs  of  the  Jews, 
sanctioned  by  some  ancient  interpretation — "  Ye 
have  heard  that  it  was  said  to  them  of  old  time, 
Thou  shalt  not  forswear  thyself,  but  shalt  perform 
unto  the  Lord  thine  oaths. "  We  trace  in  this 
traditional  teaching  that  strange  mixture  of  falseness 
and  religiousness,  which  is  so  fatal  to  genuine 
religion.  Perjury  was  forbidden,  but  the  question 
might  still  be  what  was  perjury,  and  when  was  a 
man  forsworn?  The  precept  in  Lev.  xix.  12,  was, 
"  Ye  shall  not  swear  by  my  name  falsely,  neither 
shalt  thou  [so  that  thou,  R.V.]  profane  the  name  of 
thy  God  :  I  am  the  Lord  ;  "  But  it  is  clear  from  our 
Lord's  words  that  many  oaths  were  permitted  by 
the  Jewish  practice,  the  violation  of  which  did  not 
constitute,  in  their  eyes,  perjury.  Some  oaths 
therefore,  if  violated,  meant  perjury  :  some  did  not. 
Light  comes  to  us  on  this  matter  from  the  story  of 
our  Lord's  trial.  When  the  high  priest  adjured 
Him  by  the  living  God,  he  sought  to  put  Him  to  an 
oath,  the  desecration  of  which  would  be  perjury. 
But  other  oaths  might  be  taken.  The  street  and 
i74 


THE  INNER  IS  THE  HIGHER 

the  market-place  might  ring  with  vehement  assevera- 
tions and  hard  swearing.  The  dealer  might  invoke 
all  sorts  of  attestations  in  order  to  persuade  the 
buyer.  We  can  transport  ourselves  into  the  Eastern 
bazaar :  we  can  hear  the  loud  voices  bargaining  in 
extravagant  language,  and  the  ready  oaths  to 
beguile  the  customer.  The  moral  sense  of  the 
inhabitants  is  not  shocked.  It  is  true  that  the  place 
resounds  with  hard  and  false  swearing ;  but  there  is 
no  harm  in  it.  "  Everybody  does  it :  it  deceives 
nobody."  We  know  these  old  and  misleading  pleas 
of  falsehood.  This  was  bad  enough.  But  there 
was  worse  behind.  Men  might  be  loose,  false,  or 
criminally  careless  towards  their  fellow-men.  They 
might  mislead  by  untrue  statements,  backed  up  by 
the  nimble  or  solemn  sounding  oath ;  and  yet  be  guilt- 
less of  perjury.  But  if  they  had  promised  some  sacri- 
fice, perhaps  vowed  a  vow,  should  their  fraudulent 
dealing  prove  successful,  they  must  be  scrupulous  to 
fulfil  this  oath.  It  was  a  religious  bond  :  it  must  be 
straitly  observed ;  whatever  moral  laxity  was  allowed 
in  dealings  with  men,  the  Temple  sacrifice  must  be 
offered.  Thus  an  untrue  distinction  between  moral 
and  religious  obligation  was  set  up.  It  was  forgotten, 
or  never  realized,  that  if  a  man  deceives  his  brother 
man  by  urgent  oath,  his  offering  is  unacceptable  to 
God.  On  the  altar  the  gift  must  be  left  unoffered 
»75 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

till  the  wrong  done  to  the  brother  has  been  set 
right.  u  If  a  man  love  not  his  brother  whom  he  hath 
seen,  how  can  he  love  God  whom  he  hath  not  seen." 
In  contradistinction  to  the  immoral  religionism  of 
Jewish  practice,  our  Lord  sets  up  the  supremacy  of 
those  simple  moral  principles  which  are  essential  to 
religion.  In  dealing  with  men,  all  these  specious 
and  by  no  means  innocent  oaths  were  to  be  set 
aside.  Dealings  between  man  and  man  should  be 
conducted  on  principles  of  simple  truthfulness, 
which  needed  no  extravagant  protestation  and  adroit 
swearing.  Simple  affirmation  concerning  the  matter 
in  hand  ought  to  be  sufficient.  Honesty  needs  not 
the  support  of  the  loud  oath  or  the  invocation  of 
sacred  names.  Swear  not  at  all,  for  every  oath  is 
in  the  last  resort  an  appeal  to  the  judgment  of 
heaven.  It  is  not  the  one  solemn  adjuration  by  the 
name  of  the  living  God,  which  makes  the  oath  an 
appeal  to  the  divine  knowledge  :  all  that  is  sacred 
is  sacred  only  through  Him  who  is  the  sanctifying 
life  of  all  things.  The  solemnity  of  the  sanction  and 
the  responsibility  of  the  invocation  cannot  be 
lessened  by  swearing  by  lesser  things,  by  heaven  or 
earth,  by  Jerusalem,  by  the  head ;  for  the  oath  by 
these  things  carries  you  into  God's  presence. 
Heaven  is  the  throne  of  God ;  earth  is  the  footstool 
of  God  ;  Jerusalem  is  the  city  of  the  great  King. 
176 


THE  INNER  IS  THE  HIGHER 

The  head  by  which  you  swear  is  subject  to  the  laws 
of  God.  It  is  a  vain  thing  to  attempt  to  evade  God, 
whose  presence,  power,  and  life  are  everywhere. 
You  cannot  avoid  His  laws  or  His  kingdom.  If 
you  take  the  wings  of  the  morning,  or  dream  that 
the  darkness  can  cover  you,  even  there  will  His 
hand  find  you.  It  is  as  impossible  to  find  immunity 
from  His  scrutiny  in  the  empty  subterfuge  or  the 
verbal  quibble.  He  must  be  all  or  nothing  in  the 
life  of  man.  And  every  action  of  man  should  be 
done  as  in  His  presence.  In  the  recognition  of  that 
presence,  sober  speech  and  simple  truthfulness  are 
best.  "  Let  your  speech  be  Yea,  yea,  Nay,  nay ; 
and  whatsoever  is  more  than  these  is  of  evil  (or  the 
evil  one,  R.  V.)  "  Thus  does  our  Lord  bring  a  deep 
solemnity  into  all  the  simplest  words  and  acts  of 
life.  He  is  religious  who  is  filled  with  a  religious 
sense  so  deep  and  strong  that  it  permeates  all  his 
deeds  and  all  his  speech.  Such  a  one  will  make 
no  distinction  between  the  obligation  of  the  word 
spoken  in  the  market  and  the  word  spoken  in  the 
temple.  Utter  truthfulness  must  be  in  both.  Still 
less  can  such  a  man  excuse  the  fraud  of  the  st 
by  the  sacrifice  on  the  altar.  May  such  a  one  take 
an  oath?  Does  our  Lord  forbid  the  solemn  oath 
for  purposes  of  justice  or  evidence  ?  If  we  pay  heed 
to  the  intention  and  aim  of  our  Lord's  teaching,  wc 
177  * 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

shall  find  nothing  which  forbids  such  oaths.  What 
he  aimed  at  was  the  inveterate  and  deceitful  habit  of 
using  oaths  and  protestations  to  throw  a  brother 
man  off  his  guard,  and  to  win  some  advantage  from 
him.  Nevertheless  our  Lord's  teaching  sets  before 
us  an  ideal  community  in  which  such  entire  truthful- 
ness prevailed  that  no  solemn  adjuration  would  be 
needful,  for  a  man's  word  would  be  as  good  as  his 
oath  or  his  bond. 

(iv.)  The  law  of  retribution. 

The  law  of  retribution  as  accepted  among  the 
Jews  was  the  simple  one — "  An  eye  for  an  eye,  and 
a  tooth  for  a  tooth."  The  penalty  and  the  offence 
were  to  be  the  same.  It  was  the  law  of  the 
strictest  quid  pro  quo.  The  particulars  are  set  forth 
with  more  fulness  in  Exodus  xxi.  24.  There  is  a 
sense  in  which  a  very  just  and  careful  law  of  retri- 
bution is  probably  necessary  in  a  community. 
Lynch  law,  which  is  a  kind  of  wild  justice,  is  pos- 
sibly indispensable  in  an  unformed  society.  It  is 
the  ready  means  of  bringing  untamed  and  unscru- 
pulous spirits  into  order  and  discipline.  But  there 
is  a  great  difference  between  the  law  of  the  State 
which  is  protective  and  above  all  littleness  and 
spite,  and  the  law  which  should  regulate  personal 
dealings  between  man  and  man.  The  Jews  had 
made  the  general  law  of  retribution  as  stated  in 
178 


THE  INNER  IS  THE  HIGHER 

Exodus  xxi.  a  kind  of  principle  of  personal  conduct 
instead  of  a  code  of  instruction  to  be  used  by  judges. 
In  all  societies  there  must  be  a  difference  between 
the  mode  of  dealing  between  individual  and 
individual,  and  between  authorities  and  individuals. 
.The  law  of  kindness,  the  sentiment  of  benevolence, 
has  naturally  a  freer  and  more  legitimate  scope  in 
individual  life  than  in  public  life ;  there  are  actions 
which  would  be  right  and  laudable  in  a  man,  which 
would  be  unjustifiable  in  a  judge.  On  the  other 
hand,  he  is  a  poor  citizen  who  makes  the  strictness 
of  the  law  the  measure  of  his  private  actions.  This 
is  Shylock  and  his  pound  of  flesh. 

Now,  against  this  perversion  of  matters,  Christ 
enters    His     protest.     The     spirit    which     should 
animate  the  private  citizen   should  be  the  spirit  of 
kindness,  patience,  ready  helpfulness.     He   should 
be   disposed   to  put   up   with    inconveniences,  and 
even  injustice.     The  spirit  of  retaliation  is  alien  to 
the  Son  of  God.     The  only  retaliation  which   He 
inculcates  is   that  retaliation  which  overcomes  evil 
with  good — "I  say  unto  you,  Resist  not  him  that  is 
evil ;    but   whosoever   smitcth    thee    on    thy   right 
check,  turn  to  him  the  other  also.     And  if  any  man 
would  go  to  law  with  thcc\  and  take  away  thy  coat, 
let  him  have  thy  clokc  also.     And  whosoever  sha II 
compel   thee  to  go  one  mile,  go  with    him    twain. 
i79 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

Give  to  him  that  asketh  thee,  and  from  him  that 
would  borrow  of  thee  turn  not  thou  away."  There 
can  be  no  doubt  that  our  Lord  here  inculcated  a 
habit  of  life  which  shows  a  strong  belief  in  the 
power  of  good.  He  teaches  us  after  a  fashion 
which  implies  that  in  the  long  run  good  is  stronger 
than  evil,  kindness  than  cruelty,  love  than  law. 
This  is  the  spirit  of  His  teaching.  This  was  the 
spirit  of  His  action  also.  Do  not  rely  on  law  or  on 
force  to  obtain  what  you  desire.  Rely  rather  on 
those  greater  laws  and  forces  of  righteousness  and 
love  which  rule  the  universe.  Be  patient  under 
injury.     Be  cheerful  under  inconvenience. 

It  is  perhaps  needless  to  say  that  our  Lord  does 
not  even  imply  the  unlawfulness  of  the  vocation  of 
the  magistrate  or  the  policeman.  He  is  speaking 
throughout  of  personal  action  under  personal  injury. 
There  is  no  hint  that  He  condemns  those  who 
exert  their  power  to  the  utmost  to  protect  the  weak 
and  the  oppressed.  Men  may  very  lawfully  do  on 
behalf  of  others  that  which  they  would  not  do  for 
themselves.  Civil  magistracy,  properly  admin- 
istered, is  a  protective  force.  The  degree  in  which 
we  should  invoke  its  protection  is  left  to  ourselves. 
The  counsel  of  Christ  is  to  rely  rather  on  moral  force 
than  on  legal  power ;  but  in  counselling  this,  He  by 
no  means  censures  the  existence  of  tribunal  or  judge. 
1 80 


THE  INNER  IS  THE  HIGHER 

(v.)  The  law  of  neighbourliness. 

Here  again  the  Jews  had  given  a  harsh  turn  to 
the  law  of  Moses. — "Ye  have  heard  that  it  was 
said,  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbour,  and  hate  thine 
enemy."  This  ancient  saying  was  a  simple  perver- 
sion of  Old  Testament  precepts.  In  Levit.  xix.  17,  18, 
we  find  this  precept — "Thou  shalt  not  hate  thy 
brother  in  thine  heart.  .  .  .  Thou  shalt  not  take 
vengeance,  nor  bear  any  grudge  against  the  children 
of  thy  people,  but  thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbour  as 
thyself."  The  inference  which  the  fierce  nationalism 
of  the  Jews  derived  from  these  precepts  was  that  it 
was  lawful  to  hate  those  who  were  not  their 
brethren.  The  stranger  and  the  foreigner  was  a 
legitimate  object  of  hatred.  It  is  easy  to  see  how 
this  perversion  might  receive  an  extended  meaning. 
The  private  enemy  is  regarded  as  dangerous : 
personal  affronts  are  exaggerated  into  offences 
against  society :  the  unfortunate  offender  becomes 
the  foe  of  the  nation,  for  a  false  citizen  is  worse 
than  an  open  foe.  But  this  was  not  the  intentional 
or  original  meaning  of  the  precept,  Thou  shalt  hate 
thine  enemy.  It  meant,  Thou  shalt  hate  the  foe  of 
Israel.  Thus  the  current  Jewish  teaching  produced 
narrowness  and  prejudice.  Large-hearted ness  be- 
came impossible.  Against  it  our  Lord  sets  the 
noble  ideal,  which  even  yet  is  beyond  the  power  of 
181 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

the  world  to  reach. — "  I  say  unto  you,  Love  your 
enemies,  and  pray  for  them  that  persecute  you  ;  that 
ye  may  be  sons  of  your  Father  which  is  in  heaven ; 
for  He  maketh   His  sun  to  rise  on  the  evil  and  the 

good For  if  ye  love  them  that  love  you,  what 

reward  have  ye  ?  do  not  even  the  publicans  the 
same  ?  And  if  ye  salute  your  brethren  only,  what 
do  ye  more  than  others  ?  do  not  even  the  Gentiles 
the  same  ?  "  Here  we  reach  the  true  elevation  of 
spirit  which  should  mark  the  child  of  God.  He  is 
in  the  world  for  a  specific  purpose — to  do  good  and 
to  be  good.  His  influence  and  his  energy  are 
precious  gifts  to  be  used  for  the  good  of  man.  It  is 
not  for  him  to  restrain  his  hand  or  to  limit  the 
range  of  his  influence.  Whenever  the  opportunity 
of  good  comes,  there  he  must  do  the  good.  It  is 
not  for  him  to  choose  upon  whom  he  will  use  his 
influence.  He  must  seek  to  do  good  to  all  whom 
the  providence  of  God  brings  across  his  path, 
as  Christ  showed  in  the  parable  of  the  Good 
Samaritan.  In  God's  hand  and  bounty  there  is  no 
straitness  and  no  regard  of  the  persons  of  men. 
His  sun  and  the  rain  fall  upon  the  evil  and  the 
good  ;  so  free  and  rich  must  the  benevolence  of  His 
children  be.  To  do  good  only  among  those  who 
are  fond  of  us,  or  of  whom  we  are  fond,  is  just 
crude  nature  and  shows  no  growing  and  no  dis- 
182 


THE  INNER  IS  THE  HIGHER 

ciplined  affection.  The  most  benighted  people  will 
show  reciprocal  kindness.  The  sons  of  God,  like 
their  Father,  must  evince  the  spirit  of  beneficence 
even  where  there  is  no  chance  of  reciprocity ;  for 
they  are  to  be  causes  of  good  in  others  who  are  not 
good.  Their  aim  must  be  to  resemble  their  Father. 
If  they  are  good  like  Him,  they  will  do  good  like 
Him,  with  that  large-hearted,  impartial  and  open- 
handed  kindness  which  God  shows  in  His  sunshine 
and  His  rain.  Like  Him,  our  lives  must  shed  light 
and  refreshment,  softening  and  enriching  human 
hearts  by  the  steady  outflow  of  love.  If  we  are 
God's  children,  we  shall  count  it  the  highest  happi- 
ness to  be  like  Him.  And  so  with  a  promise  which 
is  also  a  precept  Christ  closes  His  teaching  about 
neighbourliness — "  Ye  therefore  shall  be  perfect,  as 
your  heavenly  Father  is  perfect." 


183 


MARKETABLE  RELIGION 


St.  Matt.  vi.  1-18 

Take  heed  that  ye  do  not  your  alms  before  men,  to  be  seen  of 
them  :  otherwise  ye  have  no  reward  of  your  Father  which  is  in 
heaven. 

Therefore  when  thou  doest  thine  alms,  do  not  sound  a  trumpet 
before  thee,  as  the  hypocrites  do  in  the  synagogues  and  in  the 
streets,  that  they  may  have  glory  of  men.  Verily  I  say  unto  you, 
They  have  their  reward. 

But  when  thou  doest  alms,  let  not  thy  left  hand  know  what  thy 
right  hand  doeth  : 

That  thine  alms  may  be  in  secret :  and  thy  Father  which  seeth 
in  secret  himself  shall  reward  thee  openly. 

And  when  thou  prayest,  thou  shalt  not  be  as  the  hypocrites  are  : 
for  they  love  to  pray  standing  in  the  synagogues  and  in  the  corners 
of  the  streets,  that  they  may  be  seen  of  men.  Verily  I  say  unto 
you,  They  have  their  reward. 

But  thou,  when  thou  prayest,  enter  into  thy  closet,  and  when 
thou  hast  shut  thy  door,  pray  to  thy  Father  which  is  in  secret ;  and 
thy  Father  which  seeth  in  secret  shall  reward  thee  openly. 

But  when  ye  pray,  use  not  vain  repetitions,  as  the  heathen  do  : 
for  they  think  that  they  shall  be  heard  for  their  much  speaking. 

Be  not  ye  therefore  like  unto  them  :  for  your  Father  knoweth 
what  things  ye  have  need  of,  before  ye  ask  him. 

After  this  manner  therefore  pray  ye  :  Our  Father  which  art  in 
heaven,  Hallowed  be  thy  name. 

Thy  kingdom  come.  Thy  will  be  done  in  earth,  as  it  is  in 
heaven. 

Give  us  this  day  our  daily  bread. 

And  forgive  us  our  debts,  as  we  forgive  our  debtors. 

And  lead  us  not  into  temptation,  but  deliver  us  from  evil :  For 
thine  is  the  kingdom,  and  the  power,  and  the  glory,  for  ever. 
Amen. 

For  if  ye  forgive  men  their  trespasses,  your  heavenly  Father  will 
also  forgive  you  : 

But  if  ye  forgive  not  men  their  trespasses,  neither  will  your 
Father  forgive  your  trespasses. 

Moreover  when  ye  fast,  be  not,  as  the  hypocrites,  of  a  sad 
countenance  :  for  they  disfigure  their  faces,  that  they  may  appear 
unto  men  to  fast.     Verily  I  say  unto  you,  They  have  their  reward. 

But  thou,  when  thou  fastest,  anoint  thine  head,  and  wash  thy 
face  ; 

That  thou  appear  not  unto  men  to  fast,  but  unto  thy  Father 
which  is  in  secret  :  and  thy  Father,  which  seeth  in  secret,  shall 
reward  thee  openly. 


MARKETABLE   RELIGION 

THE  publicity  of  actions  is  a  foe  of  sincerity. 
Everything  which  is  publicly  done  invites 
either  the  praise  or  blame  of  men.  Too  often  a 
man  is  tempted  to  rest  in  this  human  criticism. 
The  approval  of  men  justifies  his  merit.  Their  dis- 
approval is  his  greatest  pain.  This  condition  of 
things  sets  up  fictitious  standards  of  what  is  good 
or  bad,  well  or  ill  done.  Simplicity,  which  is 
unaffected  nature  in  action,  is  destroyed.  The 
action  is  done  for  applause.  Soon  another  deteriora- 
tion takes  place.  The  action  is  done  in  the  way 
which  is  most  likely  to  provoke  applause.  The  trick 
of  playing  to  the  gallery  is  learned.  The  man  ceases 
to  act  in  the  pure  and  noble  sense ;  in  a  lower  sense, 
he  is  acting  in  all  that  he  does. 

Christ  points  out  this  snare  and  cautions  against 

a  corresponding  loss.     The  snare  is  righteousness 

followed  for  reputation's  sake :  the  caution  He  gives 

is  against  loss  of  the  Father's  reward.     We  shall 

187 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

best  understand  the  loss  which   ensues   by  under- 
standing the  effect  of  the  snare. 

The  snare  is  not  that  which  arises  out  of  the  baser 
and  more  obviously  wicked  passions.  One  of  the 
trials  or  disciplines  of  life  is  found  in  the  fact  that 
the  higher  we  climb  the  more  subtle  are  the  tempta- 
tions, because  we  move  so  to  speak  into  a  more 
refined  atmosphere.  The  difference  between  right 
and  wrong  is  measured  by  a  more  sensitive  balance, 
being  altogether  occupied  with  more  delicate  ma- 
terials. As  long  as  the  question  of  right  and  wrong 
is  exhibited  in  the  material  sphere,  the  censure  and 
the  applause  are  meted  out  by  an  obvious  law.  The 
man  who  violates  the  decalogue  in  open,  physical 
fashion  can  hardly  escape  his  own  condemnation. 
He  knows  that  he  stole,  lied,  was  guilty  of  unclean- 
ness.  The  thing  is  obvious.  He  may  make  excuses : 
doubtless  he  does  :  but  he  does  so  as  one  who  is 
quite  aware  that  his  action  was  a  breach  of  the 
moral  law.  But  when  we  rise  higher  in  the  scale  of 
civilisation  or  religious  discipline,  and  reach  that 
state  or  condition  of  life  in  which  obvious  breaches 
of  the  moral  law  are  outrages  on  the  customs  of 
society,  we  are  exposed  to  subtler  temptations.  We 
are  socially  well-behaved  men.  We  have  not 
broken  the  Commandments.  Our  hands  are  clean  : 
there  is  no  blood  on  them.  Our  behaviour  is  pure  : 
188 


MARKETABLE  RELIGION 

we  have  been  faithful  in  wedded  life.  Our  treasure- 
house  is  honest :  what  lies  there  is  our  hard-earned 
wealth.  Where  can  any  one  find  fault  with  us  ? 
Nay  more,  our  religion  is  no  mere  negative  thing.  We 
can  do  more  than  claim  that  we  have  not  broken 
these  clear  commandments  of  God.  We  have  been 
generous  supporters  of  good  causes  :  we  have  put 
our  hands  into  our  pockets  to  relieve  the  poor.  We 
have  been  liberal  according  to  our  means.  Who  can 
find  fault  with  us  ?  Can  we  even  find  fault  with 
ourselves  ? 

Now  this  is  in  a  sort  the  state  of  society  which 
Christ  has  in  His  mind.  The  lives  of  the  better 
class  of  Jews  were  comparatively  and  outwardly 
pure.  They  reverenced  the  law  of  Moses.  They 
might  explain  away  the  more  severe  precepts ;  they 
might  indulge  in  some  verbal  quibbles.  But  they 
would  not  deny  the  obligation  of  the  Commandments. 
They  prided  themselves  on  their  loyalty  to  them. 
Their  language  if  not  their  spirit  would  have  been 
that  of  the  young  ruler  :  "  All  these  I  have  kept  from 
my  youth  up."  The  society  which  they  represented 
was  one  in  which  gross  outward  disregard  of  moral 
principles  was  unfashionable.  The  religious  ob>< 
ance  of  the  law  was  expected.  Some  would  keep  it 
more  exactly  than  others.  Beyond  the  limits  of 
moral  obligation  the  religious  duties  of  piety  would 
189 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

be  observed.  A  man's  purity  would  be  measured  by 
his  external  conformity  to  the  moral  law :  his  piety 
would  be  measured  by  the  sedulousness  and  exact- 
ness with  which  he  observed  his  religious  duties. 
Our  Lord  deals  with  three  of  these  :  Almsgiving, 
Prayer  and  Fasting.  In  this  chapter  we  shall  con- 
sider the  snares  of  almsgiving  and  the  antidotes 
suggested  by  our  Lord. 

But  the  first  verse  of  the  chapter  (Matt,  vi.)  seems 
to  contain  a  general  caution  against  the  vicious  prin- 
ciple which  might  infect  the  performance  of  all  these 
religious  duties.  In  a  society  in  which  the  fulfilment 
of  religious  duties  is  approved  and  fashionable,  the 
temptation  to  ostentation  becomes  strong.  Indeed, 
it  is  only  too  human  a  weakness  to  find  pleasure  in 
the  applause  of  our  good  deeds.  Self-approval, 
when  sanctioned  and  endorsed  by  popular  applause, 
encourages  and  confirms  our  self-esteem.  It  is, 
moreover,  appetising :  it  makes  us  long  for  more. 
It  tempts  us  to  repeat  the  experiment  that  we  may 
taste  once  again  what  was  so  pleasant.  And  thus 
purity  of  motive  is  ensnared.  The  sweet  tender 
human  impulses  out  of  which  these  acts  of  piety 
should  naturally  take  their  origin  become  tainted 
and  defiled.  We  do  our  righteousness  before  men, 
to  be  seen  of  them.  There  is  no  benediction  for 
such  deeds,  because  there  is  no  benevolence  in  them. 
190 


MARKETABLE  RELIGION 

Thus  the  appearance  of  piety  might  remain  while  the 
emotions  of  piety  were  dead.     Men  act  then  not  from 
an  inward  impulse,  but  from  an  outward  stimulus. 
They  are  like  the  animal  which  in  obedience  to  an 
electric  battery  simulates  the  movements  of  life  long 
after  it  is  dead.     They  have  a  name  to  live  and  are 
dead.     Their  reward  is  the  reward  of  the  dead,  they 
can  have  none  from  the  living  God. 
I.  Almsgiving  and  its  snares. 
There  are  three  evils  which  wait  on  beneficence. 
The  act  of  kindness  may  be  accompanied   by  a 
gush  of  emotion  which  loses  sight  of  the  real  need  of 
the  recipient.     In  this  case  it  is  rather  the  indulgence 
of  a  sentiment  than  an  act  of  true  beneficence.     Self- 
consciousness,  the  almost   invariable  companion  of 
sentimentalism,    disturbs    the    judgment   and   to   a 
degree  also  the  simplicity  of  the  action.     The  luxury 
of  doing   good   becomes,    in    this   case,  an    almost 
morbid  self-indulgence.     Manly  feeling  dwindles  to 
a   self-pleasing   emotion.      Thoughtfulness    for   the 
needy  which  ought  to  signalise  true  benevolence  has 
no  place  in  such  sentimentalism.     This  is  that  hys- 
terical flabbiness  which  sins  through  indiscriminate 
charity  and  writes  itself  down  as  bountiful  when  it 
is  little  more  than  self-indulgent  ami  probably  mis- 
chievous.    This  is  an  evil  which  waits  on  beneficence 
— the  evil  of  self-conscious  sentiment. 
191 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

There  is  another  evil.  It  is  perhaps  a  worse  one. 
Beneficence  is  accompanied  by  self  satisfaction.  It 
true  that  there  is  a  God-ordained  joy  which  accom- 
panies all  doing  good.  But  this,  which  is  in  itself 
a  sort  of  ruined  relic  of  the  ideal  life  and  spirit, 
becomes  easily  converted  into  self-satisfaction,  and 
self-satisfaction  becomes  self-applause,  and  self- 
applause  is  sometimes  mistaken  for  divine  approval. 
We  have  earned  some  right,  we  think,  to  divine 
favour.  We  have  done  His  work  in  the  world.  He 
will  consider  our  merit.  We  then  begin  to  speculate 
whether  our  acts  of  benevolence,  our  generosity  in 
almsgiving,  may  not  win  by  right  the  favour  of  the 
Almighty.  Does  not  the  good  man  obtain  some 
claim  upon  God  ?  Does  not  his  liberality,  which 
is  piety  beyond  the  negative  requirements  of  the 
decalogue,  give  him  a  right  to  expect  some  favour 
or  protection  or  reward  which  less  righteous  or 
less  pious  men  could  not  claim  ?  This  is  the  evil  of 
legalism. 

There  is  a  third  evil.  Acts  of  beneficence  are  not 
long  the  property  of  the  benefactor  and  the  bene- 
fited. They  become  public  property.  Men's  deeds 
are  canvassed.  Large  bounty  is  contrasted  with 
lesser.  Distinction  of  position  and  consideration 
of  relative  ability  are  not  very  delicately  weighed. 
The  world  judges  by  broad  results.  The  act  which 
192 


MARKETABLE  RELIGION 

has  been  most  splendid  and  most  obvious  strikes 
the  popular  imagination.  Beneficence,  if  it  is  large 
enough  and  conspicuous  enough,  bribes  public  senti- 
ment and  wins  its  applause.  Beneficence  becomes 
practised  for  the  sake  of  the  public  esteem  it  brings. 
Let  us  be  bountiful.  It  enhances  our  reputation. 
This  is  the  third  evil  which  waits  on  beneficence. 
It  is  beneficence  done  for  ostentation. 

It  will  be  seen  that  these  three  evils  are  corrup- 
tions of  threefold  duty.  We  owe  a  duty  to  God,  to 
man,  and  to  ourselves.  When  we  act  beneficently 
from  motives  of  mere  sentiment,  we  act  self- 
pleasingly  rather  than  with  true  benevolence.  We 
are  really  thinking  of  ourselves  more  than  of  our 
neighbour  at  such  a  time.  When  our  beneficence 
is  legalistic,  we  wrong  God  by  the  commercial  ex- 
pectations which  we  cherish  as  the  reward  of  our 
good  deeds.  When  ostentation  governs  our  actions, 
we  introduce  an  influence  which  ought  to  have  no 
place  in  our  motives.  The  good  to  be  done  should 
be  done  because  of  simple  and  thoughtful  kindness. 
We  wrong  ourselves  when  we  allow  the  motives 
of  reputation  or  the  applause  of  men  to  mar  the 
simplicity  of  true  benevolence.  Scntimcntalism 
looks  for  reward  from  self.  Legalism  looks  for 
reward  from  God.  Ostentation  looks  for  reward 
from  men.  And  this  expectation  of,  or  looking  for, 
»93  ■ 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

reward  is  an  intrusion  upon  the  purity  of  benevo- 
lence :  the  sweet  single-mindedness,  the  entire 
naturalness  of  kindness  is  impaired. 

ii.  With  the  remembrance  of  these  three  cor- 
ruptions of  benevolence,  let  us  turn  to  our  Lord's 
teaching.  Does  He  supply  us  with  antidotes  to  these 
evils  ? 

He  supplies  the  antidote  to  the  last  of  the  three 
corruptions — ostentation.  It  is  this  with  which  He 
concludes  this  portion  of  His  sermon  :  "  Take  heed 
that  ye  do  not  (we  must  not  read  'your  alms/  but, 
as  in  the  Revised  Version)  your  righteousness 
before  men,  to  be  seen  of  them."  The  great 
Hebraist  Lightfoot  argued  that  though  righteousness 
was  the  true  meaning,  yet  righteousness  in  this  case 
stood  for  alms,  since,  according  to  well-known  Jewish 
usage,  alms  were  often  spoken  of  as  righteousness. 
"  They  called  alms  by  the  name  of  righteousness  n 
("  Hor.  Hebraicae,"  Works,  vol.  xi.  p.  131).  This 
may  be  the  case,  and  yet  it  seems  that  the  first  verse 
of  the  chapter  contains  a  general  caution  which  is 
applicable  to  the  three  acts  of  piety  of  which  He 
afterwards  treats — viz.,  Almsgiving,  Prayer,  and 
Fasting.  However  this  may  be,  He  opens  with  a 
caution  against  the  evil  of  ostentation. 

The  ostentation  might  take  a  very  offensive  form. 
It  might,  not  only,  delight  in  applause  and  therefore 
194 


MARKETABLE  RELIGION 

court  publicity,  but  it  might  even  condescend  to  self- 
advertisement.  The  trumpet  might  be  sounded 
before  it.  It  is  needless  perhaps  to  inquire  whether 
any  such  custom  existed  as  the  literal  blowing  of  a 
trumpet  to  announce  an  act  of  beneficence.  It  is 
enough  that  our  Lord  cautions  against  the  self- 
vaunting,  self-displaying  sort  of  charity  which  is  not 
content  unless  its  good  deeds  are  chronicled.  In  the 
present  day  the  caution  might  have  been,  u  Do  not 
be  desirous  that  your  munificence  shall  be  noticed  in 
the  daily  papers."  Benevolence,  so  far  as  it  is  true 
and  simple  benevolence,  does  not  need  any  such  re- 
cognition, or  any  such  stimulus  as  this.  The  Jews 
perceived  this  principle,  and,  to  a  degree,  acted  on  it. 
Lightfoot  mentions  that  there  was  in  the  Temple  the 
"  Treasury  of  the  Silent,  whither  some  very  religious 
men  brought  their  alms  in  silence  and  privacy,  when 
the  poor  children  of  good  men  were  maintained." 
He  also  quotes  a  saying  which  strikingly  expresses 
the  same  principle  of  action  :  "  He  that  doth  alms  in 
secret  is  greater  than  our  master  Moses  himself." 
One  greater  than  Moses  teaches  the  same.  Against 
all  self-display  He  gives  the  precept: — "When 
therefore,  thou  doest  alms,  sound  not  a  trumpet 
before  thee,  as  the  hypocrites  do  in  the  syna- 
gogues and  in  the  streets,  that  they  may  have 
glory  of  men.  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  They  have 
"95 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

their  reward.  But  when  thou  doest  alms,  let  not 
thy  left  hand  know  what  thy  right  hand  doeth,  that 
thine  alms  may  be  in  secret ;  and  thy  Father  which 
seeth  in  secret  shall  recompense  thee  n  (Matt.  vi.  2). 

The  second  snare  is  legalism.  Has  our  Lord 
any  caution  against  this  ?  This  is  not  so  obvious  as 
in  the  former  case.  Yet  it  is  well  to  remember  the 
prevalent  teaching  among  the  Jews.  "Alms  were 
called  righteousness  in  that  the  Fathers  of  the  Tradi- 
tions taught,  and  the  common  people  believed,  that 
alms  conferred  very  much  to  justification"  (Light- 
foot,  ibid.). 

"  For  one  farthing  given  to  a  poor  man  in  alms,  a 
man  is  made  partaker  of  the  beatifical  vision ; "  or 
again,  "  This  money  goes  for  alms,  that  my  sons 
may  live,  and  that  I  may  obtain  the  world  to  come." 
There  is  the  touch  of  a  reward  approaching  the 
spiritual  in  these  sayings.  But  there  is  also  a 
flavour  of  bargaining  in  them.  This  feature  shows 
itself  in  utterances  such  as  the  following  :  "  A  man's 
table  now  expiates  by  alms,  as  heretofore  the  altar 
did  by  sacrifice."  It  is  true  that  such  a  sentiment 
might  have  originated  in  the  harmless  belief  that 
beneficence  and  mercy  were  better  than  burnt- 
offerings.  It  would  then  run  parallel  to  the  sacred 
writer's  precept :  H  To  do  good  and  to  communicate 
forget  not ;  for  with  such  sacrifices  God  is  well 
196 


MARKETABLE  RELIGION 

pleased  "  (Heb.  xiii.  16).  But  there  is  a  nobler  and 
freer  spirit  in  the  scriptural  teaching.  No  thought 
of  personal  advantage,  whether  of  protection  or 
profit,  such  as  that  which  is  present  in  the  Jewish 
utterance,  finds  place  in  the  sacred  writer's  words. 
And  as  we  turn  to  another  Jewish  saying  we  shall 
find  the  motive  of  personal  safety  set  forth  almost 
without  reserve  :  "  If  you  afford  alms  out  of  your 
purse,  God  will  keep  you  from  all  damage  and  harm." 
In  this  utterance  there  is  the  thought  of  a  bargain 
with  God.  It  is  true  that  our  Lord  does  not  expli- 
citly deal  with  this  vicious  aspect  of  almsgiving ;  but 
inasmuch  as  He  wishes  His  hearers  to  measure  all 
actions  by  the  thought  of  Him  who  is  the  Father  of 
men,  He  inculcates  a  spirit  which  would  soar  above 
any  such  low  or  crude  idea.  A  good  man  could  not 
make  such  a  contract  with  God.  It  would  alter  the 
foundation  of  his  faith.  He  could  not  do  it,  for  a 
compact  of  this  kind  is  based  upon  a  sort  of  distrust ; 
and  a  Father  must  before  all  be  trusted.  He  could 
not  do  it,  for  it  would  imply  that  the  favour  of  God 
was  to  be  purchased ;  and  the  heart  of  a  son  could 
not  doubt  a  Father's  care.  It,  moreover,  would 
seem  to  make  his  own  piety  contingent  on  the  ex- 
pectation of  a  particular  line  of  God's  provide; 
whereas  true  piety  was  the  outcome  of  a  filial 
relationship,  and  had  as  its  basis  a  loving  cot.fi- 
197 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

dence  and  an  unquestioning  reverence.  Thus  our 
Lord  implicitly  rebukes  the  legal  spirit  in  acts  of 
piety.  He  uses  language  which  makes  such  a  spirit 
impossible  among  His  followers ;  for  the  legal  spirit 
seeks  to  establish  by  virtue  of  its  righteousness  some 
claim  upon  divine  reward. 

But  does  not  our  Lord  encourage  the  expectation 
of  some  reward  ?  Does  He  not  imply  that  there  is 
a  reward  of  the  Father  which  is  in  heaven  ?  Does 
He  not  say,  u Thy  Father  which  seeth  in  secret  shall 
recompense  thee "  ?  If  this  be  so,  does  He  not 
clearly  hold  out  the  thought  of  a  reward  to  those 
who  are  fulfilling  deeds  of  righteousness,  and  giving 
of  their  substance  in  aid  of  the  needy  ?  It  is  quite 
true  that  there  is  reward,  for  we  live  in  a  world 
where  all  things  are  ordered  by  an  ultimately  just 
and  faithful  law.  And  as  every  law  means  that 
consequences  follow  from  actions,  no  man  can  act 
without  meeting  with  the  recompense  of  his  deed. 
But  this  is  not  the  kind  of  reward  which  the  expec- 
tant religionists  looked  for.  They  thought  of  some 
recompense  which  bore  no  natural  or  orderly  relation- 
ship to  their  conduct.  They  had  no  idea  of  a 
sovereignty  whose  love  lay  in  its  faithfulness  :  they 
thought  rather  of  a  ruler  whose  caprice  was  to  be 
feared,  and  whose  favour  might  be  secured  by  apt 
and  opportune  homage.     The  character  of  God  was 


MARKETABLE  RELIGION 

not  understood.  They  judged  Him  to  be  a  respecter 
of  persons  ;  and  they  judged  that  His  regard  might 
be  judiciously  enlisted  by  those  who  were  astute 
enough  to  pay  the  requisite  price.  Thus  the  reward 
they  looked  for  was  outside  the  range  of  the  law  of 
righteous  consequence.  The  recompense  our  Lord 
had  in  view  was  the  recompense  which  comes  un- 
sought and  undesired  to  righteous-hearted  men,  and 
yet  which  comes  to  them  as  surely  as  the  flowers 
spring  from  the  soil  where  the  seed  has  been  sown. 
For  it  is  a  truth  of  life  that  reward  which  is  least 
sought  is  the  reward  which  is  most  inevitable.  And 
this  reward  is  the  reward  which  the  spiritually- 
minded  most  desire.  The  kind  action,  like  virtue, 
must  be  spontaneous  and  unconscious  of  its  own 
kindness  (so  to  speak),  and  then  its  reward  comes, 
as  the  reward  of  all  exercise  comes,  in  enlarged 
capacity.  Character  makes  heaven,  and  character 
grows  into  magnanimous  and  noble  proportions,  or 
shrinks  into  meanness  or  pettiness  according  to  our 
habitual  lines  of  conduct. 

"All  characters 
Must  shrink  or  widen  as  our  wine  skins  do, 
For  more  or  less  that  we  can  pour  in  than  " 

The  reward  is  found  in  the  growing  capacity  for 
nobleness.     Love,  which  is  often  but  a  casual  visitor 
in  human  hearts,  becomes,  if  we  will  but  encourage 
egg 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

its  kindly  suggestions,  an  abiding  guest.  Courage 
and  self-forgetfulness,  which  are  at  first  only  occa- 
sional, become  habitual.  The  soul  becomes  a  nobler 
thing  as  character  becomes  the  home,  where  noble 
virtues  are  domesticated  and  act  with  the  force  and 
suggestiveness  of  masters  and  friends,  and  no  longer 
with  the  doubtfulness  and  timidity  of  guests.  While 
this  transformation  is  taking  place  the  character  is 
growing  divine — more  like  to  God,  who  is  our  ex- 
ceeding joy.  Our  reward  is  one  with  our  spiritual 
growth  ;  our  final  satisfaction  is  in  being  like  unto 
Him.  There  is  reward  enough  in  this ;  for  the 
exercise  of  faculties,  when  they  have  become  com- 
pletely under  our  mastery,  is  in  itself  a  delight.  The 
glory  and  reward  is  not  in  flying  fame  or  transient 
applause  or  earthly  gain  :  the  glory  is  the  power,  as 
Tennyson  sang,  of  still  going  on ;  the  reward  is  in 
the  capacity  of  working  according  to  the  true  and 
divine  law  of  our  being — t.e.f  according  to  His  will 
whose  name  is  love,  and  whose  service  is  perfect 
freedom. 

There  is  a  third  corruption,  that  of  self-con- 
sciousness or  sentimentalism.  Has  our  Lord  any 
antidote  for  this  ?  I  think  so.  It  will  be  noticed 
that  our  Lord  insists  upon  the  most  complete 
simplicity  in  beneficence.  There  must  be  no  osten- 
tation, no  straining  after  effect.     There  must  be  no 

200 


MARKETABLE  RELIGION 

reckoning  up  of  the  merit  of  the  action  in  the  esteem 
of  the  world  or  to  our  own  advantage.  He  pushes 
this  principle  of  simplicity  so  far  home  that  He  says 
even  in  the  sphere  of  a  man's  own  being  there  must 
be  no  measuring  of  the  merit  of  his  deeds.  M  Let  not 
thy  left  hand  know  what  thy  right  hand  doeth."  Does 
He  not  prohibit  the  dwelling  on  our  own  kindnesses  ? 
Does  He  not  point  out  and  condemn  self-conscious- 
ness, self-esteem,  self-satisfaction  in  every  form  or 
shape  ?  All  sentimental  self-approval  is  thrust  far 
away  by  such  a  precept  as  this. 

What  then,  according  to  our  Lord,  ought  to  be  the 
characteristics  of  true  beneficence  ? 

It  ought  to  be  too  simple  and  manly  in  motive 
to  warrant  self-consciousness,  or  to  be  mere  self- 
indulgence.  It  ought  to  be  the  outcome  of  a  spirit 
so  entirely  filial  that  it  looked  for  no  reward,  and 
indeed  could  not  view  any  action  in  the  light  of  a 
bargain  with  God,  or  as  wrought  with  any  thought 
of  securing  His  favour.  It  ought  to  be  too  real  in 
its  benevolence  for  the  presence  of  any  motive  of 
ostentation. 

Beneficence,  then,  should   possess   the   qunli 
of  spontaneousness,  thought  fulness  and  aillucncc. 

i.  Beneficence  should  be  spontaneous.  It  should 
be  the  inevitable  outcome  of  a  good  heart.  There  is 
a  quality  in  true  poetry  which  Wordsworth  described 

201 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

by  the  word  Inevitableness.  He  said  of  one  writer's 
poetry  that  it  lacked  inevitableness.  It  is  this  which 
is  so  often  lacking  in  poetry.  We  feel  that  much  of 
it  is  written  by  a  stern  effort  of  will,  or  out  of  the 
compulsion  of  circumstances.  It  is  written  because 
the  man  willed  to  write  a  poem,  or  it  is  written  to 
order.  It  is  not  written  out  of  sheer  spontaneous 
love,  moved  by  the  necessity  of  genius,  and  not 
by  coercion  of  will  or  at  the  invitation  of  an  editor. 
We  may  apply  the  thought  to  beneficence.  Too 
often  beneficence  is  due  to  the  coercion  of  the 
moment,  the  impulse  of  a  quickly  stirred  sentiment, 
and  not  the  spontaneousness  of  a  loving  and  respon- 
sive heart.  But  this  spontaneousness  is  just  what 
is  wanted.  It  should  be  to  the  heart  like  the  hue 
of  the  emerald  which  shines  with  its  green  beauty 
because  it  is  its  nature  so  to  shine.  It  should  be 
like  the  song  of  the  linnet  which 

•'  Pipes  because  it  must." 

ii.  Beneficence  should  be  thoughtful.  It  should 
be  regulated  by  principle — i.e.,  it  should  not  be  at  the 
mercy  of  a  mere  sentiment.  It  should  possess  the 
element  of  thoughtfulness,  because  it  should  be  ani- 
mated by  the  real  desire  to  do  the  best  which  can 
be  done.  It  should  not  be  of  the  cheap  kind  which 
gives  a  shilling  to  get  rid  of  the  importunity  of  a 


MARKETABLE  RELIGION 

beggar,  or  to  avoid  the  appearance  of  a  mean  dis- 
regard of  the  suppliant  offertory  bag,  or  to  satisfy 
that  uneasy  argument  of  the  casually  beneficent — 
u  I  suppose  I  ought  to  give  something."  True  bene- 
ficence ought  to  stand  on  a  more  settled  principle 
than  any  of  these  motives  imply.  It  ought  to  be  a 
part  of  a  man's  whole  life.  It  ought  to  make  itself 
felt  in  the  administration  of  his  whole  income.  It 
ought  not  to  appear  only  at  church  or  when  some 
special  claim  is  brought  before  him.  It  ought  to  be 
an  abiding  principle  of  his  life  and  so  find  a  place  in 
the  system  of  his  expenditure.  It  ought  not  to  be 
casual,  but  constant.  It  ought  not  to  be  impulsive, 
but  systematic. 

in.  Beneficence  ought  to  be  abounding  and  affluent. 
The  snare  of  system  might  be  the  awakening  of  the 
legalistic  spirit ;  but  the  safeguard  against  this  is  the 
possession  of  the  filial  spirit,  which  remembers  who 
and  what  its  Father  is.  The  Father's  beneficence  is 
continuous  and  abounding.  It  falls  like  rain  and  it 
spreads  like  sunshine  :  it  touches  and  glorifies  evi 
thing.  He  who  possesses  this  spirit  will  feel  himself 
the  guardian  of  his  Father's  gifts,  and  will  administer 
them  in  the  spirit  of  his  Father.  There  will  be 
system  and  order,  but  no  hard-and-fast  line.  The 
stream  of  beneficence  will  gather  volume  as  it  flows. 
Like  old  Bishop  Wilson's  charity  it  will  grow  with 
203 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

increasing  years.  He  who  began  by  devoting  a 
tenth,  as  the  least  a  Christian  man  could  give,  will 
end  by  a  generosity  which  gives  much  more  because 
life  and  spirit,  yea,  all  that  he  has,  is  consecrated  to 
God,  nay  belongs  to  Him  who  is  the  creator  and 
giver  of  all. 

Such  are  the  features  of  true  beneficence.  It  is, 
in  Christ's  view,  the  offspring  of  a  loving  heart 
which  bears  resemblance  to  the  Father's  heart.  Its 
love  is  natural,  single-minded  and  kindly.  It  is 
thoughtful,  but  it  has  no  thought  of  itself.  It  is 
free,  yet  it  acknowledges  the  bonds  which  bind  it  to 
its  fellow-men.  It  is  alive,  and  it  has  in  it  therefore 
the  power  of  growth,  and  in  its  growth  it  finds  its 
own  exceeding  great  reward  ;  for  thus  it  is  becoming 
more  like  to  Him  who  created  it,  inspired  it,  and 
made  it  for  Himself. 


204 


THE   PRAYER   OF   PRAYERS 


St.  Matt.  vi.  9-13 

Our  Father,  which  art  in  heaven,  Hallowed  be  thy  Name.  Thy 
kingdom  come.  Thy  will  be  done  in  earth,  As  it  is  in  heaven. 
Give  us  this  day  our  daily  bread.  And  forgive  us  our  trespasses, 
As  we  forgive  them  that  trespass  against  us.  And  lead  us  not  into 
temptation  ;  But,  deliver  us  from  evil :  For  thine  is  the  kingdom, 
The  power,  and  the  glory,  For  ever  and  ever.    Amen. 


THE  PRAYER  OF  PRAYERS 

*  I  AHE  same  principle  which  governs  our  benefi- 
■*■  cence  should  also  govern  our  prayers.  Osten- 
tation in  almsgiving  is  a  vice  which  robs  charity  of 
its  virtue.  Ostentation  in  prayer  crushes  out  its 
very  heart.  And  yet  among  the  Jews  this  habit  of 
ostentation  prevailed.  They  loved  to  stand  and 
pray  in  the  synagogues  and  in  the  streets.  There 
was  no  sin  in  praying  in  the  synagogue.  Our  Lord 
Himself  joined  in  these  public  services  of  religion. 
There  was  no  sin  in  praying  in  the  street.  In  the 
throng  of  business,  and  with  the  great  stream  of  life 
flowing  past  him,  many  a  saint  of  God  has  lifted 
up  his  heart  to  God,  and  found  that  his  cares  have 
vanished  though  the  demands  of  work  continued. 
The  evil  was  not  in  prayer  said  in  street  or  syna- 
gogue, but  in  prayer  said  with  the  vainglorious 
motive  "that  they  may  be  seen  of  men"  (Matt, 
vi.  5).  It  is  the  vice  of  ostentation  which  our  Lord 
rebukes.  And  prayer,  of  all  religious  duties,  least 
207 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

calls  for  such  ostentation.  In  its  deepest  meaning 
it  is  the  communing  of  the  spirit  with  the  Father  of 
spirits.  It  is  the  cry  of  need,  the  child  of  felt  weak- 
ness or  conscious  sin,  the  faith  of  the  soul  in  Him 
who  is  great  and  who  must  be  love.  For  this,  what 
publicity  is  needed  ?  No,  rather  does  such  a  thing 
ask  for  quiet  retirement.  It  seeks  the  place  where 
the  distractions  are  least,  and  where  immunity  from 
the  irritating  interrogations  and  solicitudes  of  life 
may  ensure  calm.  But  it  is  here  that  sentimental 
weakness  might  find  a  place.  Such  weakness  would 
confess  that  prayer  was  needed  and  that  the  quiet 
spot  apart  would  conduce  to  prayer,  but  it  would 
feebly  regret  that  in  its  hurrying  life  no  such  quiet 
could  be  found.  Our  Lord  hints  that  we  must  exert 
some  vigour  of  resolution  to  secure  the  calm  which 
is  needed.  Many  who  deplore  that  they  have  no 
peaceful  spot  for  prayer  lack  the  determination  to 
follow  Christ's  precept :  "  But  thou,  when  thou 
prayest,  enter  into  thine  inner  chamber,  and  having 
shut  thy  door,  pray  to  thy  Father  which  is  in 
secret."  And  here  it  is  only  fair  to  remember 
that  in  the  crowded  life  of  our  modern  cities  no 
determination  could  secure  for  those  who  are 
huddled  in  squalid  and  narrow  tenements  the  right 
and  power  over  any  inner  chamber  which  could  be 
made  the  sanctuary  of  secret  prayer.  For  such, 
208 


THE  PRA YER  OF  PR A YERS 

perhaps,  the  most  retired  spot  is  the  church,  whose 
generous  and  kindly  doors  invite  the  tired  and 
crowd-pressed  to  turn  from  the  multitudinous  street 
and  rest  and  pray.  But  wherever  it  is,  the  prayer 
prayed  to  the  Father  in  secret  is  a  vital  part  of  true 
religion.  It  is  the  health  of  the  soul.  No  public 
prayers,  no  recited  offices,  can  take  its  place.  The 
soul  which  is  alive  must  find  its  way  to  communion 
with  its  Father — the  Father  in  secret,  who  knows 
and  understands  and  hears — the  Father  who  will 
recompense,  not  with  any  gift  to  satisfy  the  heart  of 
covetousness  nor  with  any  largesse  of  favour  given 
as  though  prayer  were  a  bribe,  but  with  that  highest 
and  best  reward,  the  deepened  sense  of  His  near- 
ness, the  stronger  conviction  of  His  wisdom,  and  the 
abiding  realisation  of  His  love. 

There  is  another  evil  which  mars  prayer. 
Ostentation  in  prayer  is  a  vice  which  owes  its 
existence  to  the  thought  of  men  and  the  desire  of 
their  applause,  but  there  is  an  evil  which  comes 
from  wrong  thoughts  of  God.  There  were  those  in 
our  Lord's  day  who  regarded  prayer  as  a  sort  of 
incantation.  They  failed  to  realise  that  the  he 
wish  was  the  heart  of  the  prayer.  They  believed 
that  the  mechanical  act  of  repetition  had  some 
virtue,  so  that  though  the  heart  went  no  longer  with 
the  words,  the  words  uttered  would  win  the  boon. 
209  o 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

Against  this  Christ  warns  His  disciples  as  against  a 
heathenish  thought.  "  And  in  praying  use  not  vain 
repetitions  as  the  Gentiles  do;  for  they  think  they 
shall  be  heard  for  their  much  speaking." 

Here,  again,  it  is  not  the  repetition  of  a  prayer 
which  is  condemned,  for  our  Lord  Himself  in  His 
agony  in  the  garden  repeated  His  prayer  again  and 
again.  He  "  prayed  a  third  time,  saying  again  the 
same  words  "  (Matt.  xxvi.  39-44).  When  the  heart 
is  in  the  words,  the  words  are  no  longer  vain 
repetition — earnestness  reiterates,  emptiness  repeats. 
The  followers  of  Baal  cry,  "  O  Baal,  hear  us,"  from 
morning  till  evening.  The  multiplication  of  words 
with  an  absent  heart  is  not  prayer.  "  In  this 
matter,"  says  Lightfoot  (4<  Hor.  Heb.,"  Works,  vol. 
ii.  145),  "  the  Jew  sinned  little  less  than  the  heathen. 
For  this  was  a  maxim  with  them — Every  one  that 
multiplies  prayer  is  heard."  What  Christ  con- 
demned was  the  vain  theory  that  words  could 
become  substitutes  for  earnestness  of  soul.  He 
would  expose  the  false  opinion  that  there  was 
"some  power,  or  zeal,  or  piety,  in  such  kind  of 
repetitions"  ("  Hor.  Heb.,"  Works,  vol.  ii.  145.) 
M  Be  not,  therefore,  like  unto  them,  for  your  Father 
knoweth  what  things  ye  have  need  of  before  ye 
ask  Him."  It  is  only  true  and  worthy  thoughts 
of  God  which  will  save  men  from  these  foolish  and 


THE  PR  A  YER  OF  PRA  YERS 

heathenish  practices.  If  we  can  but  think  of  Him 
as  the  all-wise  and  all-loving  Father,  who  under- 
stands our  hearts  long  before,  and  whose  purpose 
towards  us  is  an  unswerving  purpose  of  love, 
we  shall  not  dream  of  imagining  that  empty  and 
heartless  words  could  avail  to  make  Him  change 
His  wise  designs,  or  that  such  an  offering  could  be 
acceptable  to  Him  who  weighs  the  hearts  of  men. 
Thus  our  Lord  cautions  against  a  vice  in  prayer 
which  in  part  owes  its  origin  to  false  and  low 
conceptions  of  God. 

But  our  Lord  knew  also  human  weakness.  He 
knew  how  even  intelligent  piety  halted  in  its 
prayers,  and  how  even  honesty  of  spirit  might  tempt 
a  man  to  abstain  from  prayer  which,  though  hesi- 
tating, would,  by  its  genuineness,  draw  him  nearer 
to  God.  Knowing  this,  Christ  gave  to  His  disciples 
the  pattern  of  prayer.  "After  this  manner,  there- 
fore, pray  ye."  And  then  follows  the  prayer  known 
for  eighteen  centuries  as  the  Lord's  Prayer — the 
prayer  which,  being  used  of  all  Christendom,  is  the 
prayer  of  four  hundred  millions  of  people  to-day 

i.  The  Lord's  Prayer  contains  seven  petitions. 
In  a  degree  these  petitions  reflect  the  thoughts  of 
the  beatitudes.  It  is,  of  course,  only  a  petty  spirit 
which  seeks  to  make  these  petitions  literally  con- 
form, as  it  were,  to  the  beatitudes  ;  but  there  is  a 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

general  and  large  agreement  of  thought  between 
them.  Thus  the  opening  petition  of  the  Lord's 
Prayer,  like  the  first  beatitude,  takes  us  away  from 
self  in  order  to  fill  us  with  the  remembrance  of  God. 
The  poor  in  spirit,  the  man  who  has  ceased  from  self 
is  the  man  who  will  pray  most  truly,  "  Hallowed  be 
Thy  name."  The  meek  who  will  inherit  the  earth 
can  most  fitly  say,  "  Thy  kingdom  come."  The 
mourner  finds  a  blessing  when  he  can  pray,  "Thy 
will  be  done."  Those  who  hunger  for  righteous- 
ness have  as  much  right  and  as  much  necessity  as 
the  physically  needy  to  pray,  u  Give  us  this  day  our 
daily  bread."  The  merciful  who  look  to  obtain 
mercy  can  enter  as  none  else  can  enter  into  the 
meaning  of  the  prayer,  "  Forgive  us  our  debts  as  we 
also  have  forgiven  our  debtors."  Well  may  the 
pure  in  heart  who  shrink  from  sin  pray,  "  Lead  us 
not — bring  us  not — into  temptation."  The  peace- 
makers may  dread  the  malignant  power  which  stirs 
up  strife  and  sows  discord,  and  may  cry,  "  Deliver 
us  from  the  evil  one."  But  these  parallels  must  not 
be  pressed  too  far.  To  do  so  is  to  lose  the  breadth 
and  range  both  of  the  beatitudes  and  of  the  Lord's 
Prayer.  They  may,  however,  serve  to  show  us 
that  there  are  certain  principles  which  our  Lord 
reiterates  and  insists  upon  as  belonging  to  the  order 
of  Kis  great  kingdom.     The  general  outline  of  these 


THE  PR  A  YER  OF  PR  A  YERS 

principles  is  clear.  It  is  to  cease  from  self — to  seek 
the  kingdom  within  in  the  purification  of  the 
dispositions  of  the  soul  rather  than  in  any  outward 
gain  or  seeming — to  find  happiness,  not  in  our  own 
weak  choice  or  in  obstinate  self-will,  but  in  the 
doing  and  the  bearing  of  God's  will ;  in  being 
content  with  divine  support,  and  in  reckoning  it 
our  best  triumph  when  we  are  victorious  over  evil. 
Everywhere  Christ  teaches  that  His  kingdom  is 
spiritual.  The  prayer  He  has  given  us  is  built  on 
this  thought,  for  it  is  a  prayer  for  spiritual  victory  in 
the  hallowing  of  God's  name,  in  the  doing  of  His 
will,  in  the  feeding  on  His  food,  in  the  resting  on 
His  forgiving  love,  in  the  deliverance  from  temp- 
tation and  evil.  There  is  no  prayer  for  high  estate, 
lofty  place  or  large  resources.  It  is  the  prayer  of 
paradise,  of  the  true  paradise,  which  is  truest  be- 
cause most  inward.  u  Reason,"  says  Jacob  Behmen, 
u  asks  where  is  paradise  to  be  found  ?  Is  it  far  off 
or  near  ?  Is  it  in  this  world  or  is  it  above  the 
stars  ?  Where  is  that  desirable  country  where  there 
is  no  death  ?  Beloved,  there  is  nothing  nearer  you 
at  this  moment  than  paradise,  if  you  incline  that 
way."  And  why  ?  Because,  "  paradise  is  the  divine 
and  angelical  joy,  pure  love,  pure  joy,  pure  gladness, 
in  which  there  is  no  fear,  no  misery  and  no  death." 
ii.  The  Prayer. 

213 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

It  opens  with  the  supreme  word,  and  with  the 
thought  which  upholds  all  other  thought — Our 
Father.  All  theology  lies  in  this  utterance,  and  all 
religion  and  all  philanthropy  also.  All  theology,  for 
this  is  the  parent  truth  of  all  divine  truths  that  one 
is  our  Father,  even  God.  All  religion,  for  to  realise 
this  truth,  to  rest  in  it,  to  understand  it  spiritualty 
as  a  living  thought,  so  that  we  ourselves  turn  to  this 
Father  as  indeed  our  Father,  the  fountain  of  all  joy 
and  the  source  of  all  wisdom,  discipline,  and  good- 
ness in  life,  is  to  grasp  the  heart  of  religion.  All 
philanthropy,  for  to  realise-  that  the  whole  world 
may  join  with  us  in  praying  this  prayer  is  to  realise 
the  brotherhood  which  is  as  eternally  true  as  is  the 
divine  fatherhood.  And  lastly,  to  realise  that  this 
Father  of  ourselves  and  of  the  whole  world  also  is 
the  heavenly  Father,  is  to  bring  to  our  minds  the 
exceeding  spirituality  of  His  kingdom,  the  loftiness 
and  sweet  severity,  as  well  as  the  matchless  and 
divine  tenderness,  of  His  dealings  with  us,  who 
seeks  not  so  much  to  please  us  as  to  realise  Himself 
in  us,  and  so  to  raise  us  to  the  highest  joy  through 
the  purest  good. 

Hallowed  be  Thy  name. 

This  is  the  first  petition.  It  implies  that  rever- 
ence for  God  is  a  first  step  of  true  life.  But, 
naturally,  this  reverence  is  not  of  the  lip  only.  It 
214 


THE  PR  A YER  OF  PR A YERS 

is  not  a  prayer  mainly  and  chiefly  for  the  mainten- 
ance of  the  externals  of  worship.     It  is  much  deeper 
than   this.     It    is  for    that    spirit  out    of  which  all 
worship  should  spring.     It  is  the  prayer  that  God 
may  be  made  first  in  all  the  thoughts  and  wishes  of 
every  man.     It  is  the  prayer  that  the  name  of  God 
may  be  no   empty  name    to  which    is  accorded  an 
empty  homage,  but  that  the  name  which  stands  for 
the  reality  and  the  character  of  God  may  be  a  living, 
holy,  real    thing  to  every  one,  that  the  living  God 
may  be  enshrined  in  the  heart  of  all  His  creatures  as 
the  first,  chiefest,  loveliest,  holiest,  and  most  hallow- 
ing power  and   thought    in   human  life.     And    two 
things  follow  from    this.     First,  God   must    be   all, 
self  must    be    nothing.     How  can    God's    name   be 
hallowed  in  a  life  whose  chief  motive  is  self-indul- 
gence,   self-pleasing,    self-will  ?      And    secondly,    it 
implies  the    sanctification    of  the    whole    nature   of 
man  :  since  the  true  hallowing  of  God's  name  is  that 
which  brings  about  in  and  among  men  resemblance  to 
I  lis  character.     Otherwise  the  hallowing  of  the  name 
is  a  thing  on  the  surface.     The  hallowing  of  God's 
name,  which  is  a  real  hallowing,  is  according  to  that 
word  of  Christ :  "If  a  man  love  me,  he  will  keep  my 
saying;  and  my  Father  will  love  him,  and  wc  will 
come  to  him  and  make  our  abode  with  him." 

And  thus   it   will    he  seen  that   this  first  petition 
215 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

gives  a  hue  to  the  whole  of  the  Lord's  Prayer.  It 
stands  first ;  it  strikes  the  keynote  of  purified  human 
desire.  God  is  first ;  and  resemblance  to  Him  man's 
first  prayer.  And  all  that  follows  is  conditioned  by 
this  prayer.  The  kingdom  which  is  to  come,  the 
will  which  is  to  be  done,  are  the  kingdom  and  the 
will  of  God  whose  holiness  needs  to  be  fulfilled  in 
men.  For  thus  the  sacred  writers  speak :  u  A 
sceptre  of  righteousness  is  the  sceptre  of  His  king- 
dom "  (Ps.  xlv.  6).  "  This  is  the  will  of  God,  even 
our  sanctification "  ( I  Thes.  iv.  3).  "  Holiness 
becometh  His  house  for  ever "  (Ps.  xciii.  5),  and 
men  "give  thanks  for  His  name,"  which  is  not  only 
"great  and  wonderful,"  but  "holy"  also  (Ps.  xcix.  3). 
Thus  those  who  are  striving  against  evil  and  fighting 
their  bosom  foe  are  encouraged  when  they  think  that 
His  nature  is  the  guarantee  of  their  ultimate  victory ; 
and  so  they  give  thanks  at  the  remembrance  of  His 
holiness.  Thus  we  touch  in  this  prayer  the  great 
ethical  condition  of  all  religion  and  of  all  victory  of 
faith  j  for  we  are  in  view  of  that  holiness  without 
which  no  man  shall  see  the  Lord !  The  advent  of 
the  kingdom  would  bring  no  joy,  unless  His  name 
were  holy.  The  doing  of  His  will  would  be  but 
submission  to  power,  not  to  that  holy  power  which 
the  conscience  must  approve.  We  can  only  pray, 
Thy  will  be  done,  when  we  know  that  that  will  is 

2|6 


THE  PR  A YER  OF  PR A YERS 

holy.  When  we  think  of  our  needs,  it  is  the  re- 
membrance that  He  is  holy  which  can  make  us  bold 
in  praying,  Give  us  this  day  our  daily  bread,  since 
He  will  ever  sustain  us  with  that  which  will  best 
nourish  our  growth  in  goodness.  He  will  feed  us 
with  no  harmful  diet,  but  with  food  convenient  for 
us.  His  holiness  also  helps  our  prayer  for  forgive- 
ness. To  pray  to  be  forgiven  by  a  being  in  whom 
no  holiness  dwelt  would  be  but  a  prayer  to  be 
delivered  from  penalties  inflicted  by  his  caprice.  To 
pray  to  be  forgiven  by  one  whose  name  is  holy  is  a 
prayer  which  means  that  we  put  ourselves  beside 
His  holiness  in  our  hatred  of  evil,  and  that  we  are 
making  His  holiness  our  refuge  from  our  own  un- 
holiness.  To  Him,  because  He  is  holy,  we  can 
turn  for  rescue  from  our  temptations,  and  for 
deliverance  from  the  evil  one.  The  thought  of 
holiness  pervades  the  whole  prayer.  The  spirit  of 
the  first  petition  is  the  spirit  of  the  whole.  We 
never  let  go  our  hold  upon  the  ethical  basis  of  the 
divine  kingdom.  We  never  forget  that  we  live 
under  the  righteous  rule  of  the  righteous  king. 

Thy  kingdom  conic. 

Lightfoot    mentions    a    Jewish    axiom  :     M  That 

prayer  wherein  there  is  no  mention  of  the  kingdom 

of  God  is  not  a  prayer."     The  Jew  looked  forward  to 

the   day  of  Messiah's    kingdom.     It  was  his  great 

*«7 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

hope;  for  it  was  to  bring  the  golden  age  to  his 
nation  and  great  prosperity  to  his  people.  We  can 
well  understand  how  the  thought  and  expectation  of 
this  kingdom  found  a  place  in  every  prayer.  The 
Jew  no  doubt  had  wrong  conceptions ;  he  dreamed 
of  the  coming  of  God's  kingdom  as  though  it  were  a 
kingdom  after  the  fashion  of  the  kingdom  of  David 
or  Solomon.  Military  triumphs  and  abundance  of 
wealth  figured  in  his  imagination  as  features  of  that 
age.  But  other  thoughts,  purer  and  more  spiritual, 
must  have  had  a  place  there.  "  In  His  days  shall 
the  righteous  flourish,  and  abundance  of  peace  so 
long  as  the  moon  endureth,  or  till  the  moon  be  no 
more."  So  it  was  written  in  the  seventy-second 
Psalm  which  gave  a  picture  of  a  kingdom  in  which 
equity,  justice  and  mercy  were  to  be  recognised. 
"  He  shall  judge  thy  people  with  righteousness,  and 
thy  poor  with  judgment.  The  mountains  shall  bring 
peace  to  the  people,  and  the  hills  in  righteousness. 
He  shall  judge  the  poor  of  the  people :  He  shall  save 

the  children  of  the  needy He  shall  redeem 

their  soul  from  oppression  and  violence ;  and  pre- 
cious shall  their  blood  be  in  His  sight." 

The  same  spirit  of  righteousness  and  deliverance 

and  pity  finds  place  in  those  words  of  the  prophet : 

"  The  spirit  of  the   Lord  is  upon  me,  because  He 

anointed   me   to  preach  good  tidings  to  the  poor; 

218 


THE  PRAYER  OF  PRAYERS 

He  hath  sent  me  to  proclaim  release  to  the  captives, 
and  recovering  of  sight  to  the  blind,  to  set  at  liberty 
them  that  are  bruised,  to  proclaim  the  acceptable 
year  of  the  Lord."  As  prophecy  grew  the  material 
aspects  of  the  kingdom  became  less,  the  spiritual 
aspects  more  and  more — till  Christ  made  it  clear  that 
the  kingdom  was  a  kingdom  which  was  character — a 
kingdom  not  meat  and  drink,  but  righteousness,  peace 
and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost.  The  sword  of  this  kingdom 
is  not  the  sword  which  destroys  men's  bodjes,  but  which 
slays  their  passions  and  saves  their  souls.  It  is  the 
sword  of  the  spirit  which  is  the  word  of  God.  The 
weapons  are  not  carnal.  The  armour  is  the  armour 
of  righteousness  on  the  right  hand  and  on  the  left. 

When  we  translate  this  teaching  into  modern 
speech,  we  begin  to  understand  that  the  kingdom 
which  we  pray  for  is  the  kingdom  of  righteousness, 
truth,  fair  dealing,  generosity,  pity,  charity,  purity. 
It  is  the  kingdom  in  which  the  spirit  of  Christ  is  the 
law  of  souls.  It  is  the  kingdom,  therefore,  in  which 
selfishness,  meanness,  dishonesty,  uncleanness,  in- 
justice and  unscrupulousness  can  have  no  place.  It 
is  no  kingdom  In  which  the  power  of  God  enfa 
itself  by  material  means.  The  sword  is  in  the 
mouth,  not  in  the  hand.  It  is  the  word  which 
works  by  reasonable  persuasion,  by  clear  conviction, 
by  intelligent  and  honest  acquiescence.  The  king- 
219 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

dom  of  God  will  not  have  truly  come  as  long  as 
obedience  to  the  laws  of  the  kingdom  is  due  to  com- 
pulsion or  mere  fashion,  or  the  fear  of  being  thought 
irreligious.  It  only  comes  when  all  men  freely  and 
by  choice  live  by  the  laws  of  Christ.  Thus  the  state 
of  things  aimed  at  is  higher  than  any  law-enforced 
socialistic  conception.  It  is  rather  that  state  wished 
for  by  Tennyson — "when  all  men's  good  (shall)  be 
each  man's  rule  " — and  this  in  the  highest  sense — 
for  it  will  be  right  done  and  good  promoted  for  love's 
sake. 

This  kingdom  would  bring  peace  and  content- 
ment. Men  would  not  seek  to  grow  rich  at  their 
brother  men's  pain  or  cost.  Universal  tenderness 
and  kindly  consideration  would  everywhere  prevail. 
Men  would  vie  with  one  another  in  the  happy 
rivalry  of  service,  not  in  the  fierce  competition  for 
wealth.  Nations  would  distribute  their  produce, 
and  no  longer  set  barriers  against  the  natural  ex- 
pansion of  growing  races.  The  law  of  service 
would  so  sway  men's  hearts  and  motives  that  little- 
ness, trickery  and  fraud  would  be  impossible.  The 
vision  lies  in  the  future.  It  will  surely  come :  it 
will  not  tarry.  But  it  must  come  in  natural  order, 
and  by  lawful  means.  And  therefore  our  Lord 
teaches  us  further  to  pray  : 

Thy  will  be  done  on  earth,  as  it  is  in  heaven. 
220 


THE  PRA YER  OF  PR A YERS 

For  this  is  the  way  in  which  the  kingdom  is  to 
come.  It  is  there  wherever  God's  will  is  done  on 
earth  as  it  is  in  heaven.  For  in  heaven  there  is  no 
constraint.  It  is  the  home  of  free  activities.  That 
which  is  done  is  that  which  it  is  gladness  to  do. 
No  bondage  of  compulsion  has  place  there,  and 
therefore  there  is  no  sulky  obedience  or  specious 
insincerity.  In  heaven  the  will  of  God  is  done  by 
spirits  which  know  and  love  His  will.  His  will  is 
the  joy  of  their  life,  the  law  of  their  being ;  for  it  is 
the  good  and  acceptable  and  righteous  will  of  God, 
There  love  carries  out  the  purposes  of  Him  whose 
name  is  love. 

And  here  we  may  see  how  very  scant  is  the  in- 
terpretation so  often  given  to  this  prayer,  "  Thy  will 
be  done."  We  see  it  written  on  tombstones,  we  hear 
it  sighed  forth  as  a  chastened  sentiment  when  some 
great  loss  has  been  sustained,  and  some  great  be- 
reavement has  left  the  home  desolate.  It  is  the 
prayer  of  resignation,  of  gentle  and  soft  acqui- 
escence in  some  inscrutable  providence.  It  is  in 
this  sense  altogether  passive.  No  doubt  there  arc 
times  when  this  is  the  sweet  and  utter  duty  of  the 
pained  and  troubled  soul.  The  dead  were  dear; 
they  are  dear;  it  has  been  hard  to  give  them  up, 
even  to  God.  u  Thy  will  be  done."  God  is  stronger, 
greater:    He   has    taken    them.     He   is   loving   too. 

221 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

He  does  it  wisely.  Yes.  u  Thy  will  be  done,"  may 
well  be  prayed  then.  But  the  prayer  is  much  larger. 
It  is  the  prayer  which  should  brace  us  up  to  the 
ever-doing  of  His  will.  It  should  urge  us  to  shape 
our  lives  and  to  discipline  our  motives  so  that  we 
should  ever  be  living  and  acting  according  to  His 
will — nay,  more,  that  we  should  so  live  with  Him  in 
thought  and  prayer,  and  study  of  His  law,  that  we 
should  understand  His  will  and  strive  to  make  it 
our  joy.  It  was  thus  that  the  Psalmist  could  speak 
of  his  delight  in  God's  commandments.  But  the 
doing  of  His  will  should  go  even  beyond  this.  It 
is  only  perfect  when  our  spirits  are  so  truly  in 
sympathy  with  His  spirit  that  we  regard  all  life  and 
all  duty  from  the  divine  standpoint.  We  need  to 
catch  the  spirit  of  His  will,  and  bring  the  spirit  of 
that  will  into  all  that  we  do.     Our  prayer  should  be 

"  Our  wills  are  ours,  we  know  not  how  ; 
Our  wills  are  ours,  to  make  them  Thine." 

So  may  we  pray  Christ's  prayer,  desiring  that  we 
should  share  His  spirit,  and  love  His  will.  And 
what  is  this  but  the  prayer  that  in  us,  and  in  all 
human  souls,  the  love  of  God  may  be  shed  abroad 
by  the  spirit  which  He  gives  ?  Then,  indeed,  when 
all  are  filled  with  that  spirit  of  love,  would  His  will 
be  done  on  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven. 

But  for   this   we  need   the   sustenance   and    the 


THE  PR  A YER  OF  PR A YERS 

invigorating   strength    of   heaven.     And    so   Christ 
teaches  us  to  pray  : 

Give  us  this  day  our  daily  bread. 
This  is  a  prayer  which  only  a  large-hearted  faith 
can  pray.  It  is  just  the  prayer  which  a  son  can 
pray  to  a  father.  It  asks  not  for  a  great  abundance, 
but  for  enough.  It  says — Thou  hast  given  me  duty 
to  do,  give  me  adequate  strength,  give  me  the  day's 
bread  for  the  day's  task.  It  asks  no  affluence  to 
satisfy  pride,  but  enough  to  satisfy  need.  It  asks 
no  dainties  to  satisfy  desire,  but  bread  to  support 
strength.  It  is  a  prayer  which  is  as  temperate  as  it 
is  trustful  and  modest.  It  is  the  prayer  of  a  con- 
tented spirit,  but  yet  of  a  spirit  eager  to  discharge 
its  duty.  It  leaves  the  choice  of  the  food  to  the 
divine  wisdom  which  knows  best  what  to  bestow. 
It  is  content  that  that  wisdom  should  apportion  to 
it  its  food.  Like  Agur  it  prays,  Feed  me  with  food 
convenient  for  me  (Prov.  xxx.  8). 

What  a  lesson  for  the  worldly,  covetous,  anxious- 
hearted,  or  ambitious  is  here !  They  are  eager  for 
riches  :  covetous,  that  they  may  outstrip  some  other 
in  the  race  for  wealth  ;  anxious,  for  fear  they  may 
be  overlooked  in  the  distribution  of  honours  ;  ambi- 
tious for  glories  in  which  they  may  excel  other  men. 
How  can  such  pray,  Give  us  this  day  our  daily 
bread,  when  it  is  not  this  simple  and  sufficient  fare 

23J 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

which  they  desire,  but  more  and  yet  more  and  more 
choice  and  ever-abounding  fare  they  crave  for  ? 
What  a  lesson  for  the  distrustful  spirit  which  desires 
to  have  goods  laid  up  against  the  changes  of  the 
future,  and  cannot  trust  God  for  what  has  not  yet 
been  given,  and  is  not  yet  needed.  Sufficient  unto 
the  day  is  the  evil  thereof.  Sufficient  also  is  the 
food  God  daily  gives.  In  our  prudence  as  well  as 
in  our  desires  we  need  faith ;  for  prudence  may 
degenerate  into  faithless  anxiety  and  forgetfulness 
of  Him  who  holds  to-morrow  in  His  hand,  and  can 
give  to  us  each  day  our  daily  bread. 

And  as  is  His  providence  for  the  needs  of  the 
body,  so  also  is"  His  care  for  the  spiritual  needs  of 
His  children.  He  who  desires  that  we  should  grow 
up  into  His  likeness  feeds  and  sustains  the  growing 
life  of  the  soul.  Yea,  He  gives  us  Himself,  ex- 
changing His  heart  with  ours,  communicating  unto 
us  His  spirit,  making  us  partakers  of  His  nature. 
And  as  the  earnest  and  symbol  of  this,  He  has  insti- 
tuted that  great  memorial  of  His  love  which  is  also 
the  sign  that  our  life  is  indeed  in  Him  and  that  it  is 
only  in  Him  that  we  can  truly  live.  We  can  only 
live  our  own  life  by  living  His.  And  in  this  we 
affirm  no  new  doctrine,  but  we  recognise  that  old 
and  eternal  one  that  in  Him  we  live  and  move  and 
have  our  being.  That  which  we  take  in  the  com- 
224 


THE  PR  A YER  OF  PR A YERS 

munion  of  His  love  is  common  bread  and  common 
wine ;  and  yet  to  us  it  becomes  divine,  soul-sustain- 
ing and  heavenly  food.  And  this  not  by  trans- 
formation of  the  divine  into  any  earthly  thing,  but 
by  virtue  of  the  fact  that  the  simplest  creatures  are 
pledges  of  His  power  and  witnesses  of  His  presence. 
The  divine  is  never  changed  into  the  earthly,  but 
the  earthly  is  realised  to  be  ever  in  the  divine. 
There  needs,  therefore,  no  conversion  of  the  God- 
head into  flesh  or  into  bread,  but  the  realisation  of 
that  unfailing  divine  presence  in  which  are  all  things. 
And  thus  the  common  bread  needs  no  transforma- 
tion ;  for  the  life  and  virtue  of  all  are  in  Him  who 
sends  all  things  to  their  use  and  purpose.  And 
everything  may  minister  divine  help  to  our  souls, 
seeing  that  His  presence  is  never  far  from  any  one 
of  us.  And  to  this  His  real  presence,  the  feast  of 
the  breaking  of  bread,  must  ever  witness,  giving  us, 
instead  of  a  needless  wonder,  the  assurance  of  His 
changeless  presence,  and  instead  of  the  degradation 
of  the  divine,  the  glorious  divine  power  which  took 
the  manhood  into  God. 

But  man  needs  more  than  sustenance.  He  who 
gives,  must  needs  forgive.  Our  faults  are  no  less 
real  than  our  weakness.  Therefore  Christ  teaches 
us  to  pray : 

Forgiw  mj  tmr  toit$pa$9i$—om  trespasses,  our 
225  p 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

sins,  our  debts.  The  neglect  of  service  owed  to 
God,  the  violations  of  sanctity,  the  transgressions  of 
law,  the  outbursts  of  passion,  the  indulgence  of  evil 
temper,  the  envious  and  grudging  spirit,  our  failures 
in  brotherliness,  our  want  of  charity — what  are  they 
but  blemishes  on  the  life  which  the  children  of  God 
should  live  ?  These,  and  whatsoever  more  we  may 
know  of,  are  sins  for  which  we  need  forgiveness  ; 
for  they  separate  us  from  the  joy  of  God's  presence, 
and  the  realisation  of  His  life.  In  Christian  life 
this  experience  is  needed.  It  may  be  described  as 
the  inseparable  condition  of  progress.  The  sense  of 
sin  is  the  sense  of  falling  below  what  we  might  have 
been — wrhat  we  ought  to  have  been.  There  is  a 
sadness  and  a  self-reproach  in  this ;  but  there  is  a 
sort  of  greatness  also,  since  to  be  able  to  judge  self 
and  to  condemn  self  is  the  sign  that  we  are  climbing 
above  self.  The  self-criticism  of  the  artist  is  the 
evidence  that  he  is  capable  of  advance  to  greater 
heights.  The  power  of  self-condemnation  is  the 
witness  that  we  can  appreciate  and  long  for  a  holier 
and  truer  life.  To  be  able  to  say,  "  Forgive  us  our 
sins,"  meaning  what  we  say,  is  to  be  able  to 

M  Rise  on  stepping-stones 
Of  our  dead  selves  to  higher  things." 

But  our  Lord  adds  something  to  this  prayer  for 
forgiveness.     He  teaches  us  not  only  to  say,   u  For- 
226 


THE  PR A YER  OF  PR A YERS 

give  us  our  sins,"  "  but  forgive  us  our  trespasses  as 

we  forgive  them  that  trespass  against   us"     Forgive 

— as  we  forgive.     Here  is  the  test  of  the  reality  of 

our  prayer.    Prayer  for  forgiveness  is  only  real  when 

the  heart   is    softened  with    contrition,  and  humble 

with  the  remembrance  and  hatred  of  its  fall.     Such 

a   softening   brings    tenderness.     The    resentments 

of  life  melt  away.     Pity  takes  the  place  of  wrath. 

Whittier  tells  how,  with  a  chafed  spirit,  full  01 

wrath   and    resentment,    he    strolled    one    summer 

Sabbath  morning  among 

M  The  green  mounds  of  the  village  burial-place  ; 
Where  pondering  how  all  human  love  and  hate 

Find  one  sad  level,  till 

Awed  for  myself,  and  pitying  my  race, 

Our  common  sorrow,  like  a  mighty  wave, 

Swept  all  my  pride  away,  and  trembling  I  forgave." 

The  large  sense  of  human  sorrow  softened  away  all 
resentment.  It  is  the  same  with  the  sense  of  the 
vast  heavenly  love  which  comes  over  us  when  we 
realise  sin  and  the  forgiveness  of  sin.  We  rise  above 
petty  grudges.  We  live  and  breathe  in  the  large 
and  kindly  atmosphere  of  a  divine  mercy.  Forgive- 
ness of  those  who  have  harmed  us  becomes  natural 
and  easy.  Where  this  spirit  is  not,  the  desire  to  be 
forgiven  is  only  conventional  and  self-interested. 
It  is  not  the  desire  to  be  quit  of  the  sin.  The 
paradox  of  this  experience  is  that  as  we  become 
227 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

hard  in  self-condemnation  we  become  tender  towards 
others.  And  again,  the  great,  deep  sense  of  the 
divine  love  and  pity,  like  sunshine,  melts  the  frost 
of  pride,  which  makes  forgiveness  hard.  So  we  get 
the  measure — Forgive  as  we  forgive.  The  parable 
of  the  unforgiving  servant  is  Christ's  own  commen- 
tary on  this  petition  :  "  Shouldest  thou  not  have  had 
compassion  on  thy  fellow-servant  even  as  I  had  pity 
on  thee  ?  " 

And  lead  us  not  into  temptation. 

St  James  tells  us  that  God  does  not  tempt  any 
man  (James  i.  13,  14).  He  also  bade  those  to  whom 
he  wrote  to  rejoice  when  they  fell  into  manifold 
temptations.  IF  we  distinguish  the  points  of  view, 
we  shall  feel  that  the  apparent  contradiction  between 
the  teaching  of  the  Lord's  Prayer  and  that  of  St. 
James  disappears.  St.  James  is  thinking  of  those 
trials  which  come  to  test  the  quality  of  the  Christian 
soldier,  and  which,  when  stoutly  met,  serve  to 
develop  his  character.  Our  Lord  is  thinking  of  the 
giving  way  before  it.  St.  James  is  thinking  of  meet- 
ing and  mastering  the  enemy.  Our  Lord  teaches  us 
to  pray  that  we  be  not  delivered  into  his  hands. 
Christ  would  not  teach  us  to  pray  to  escape  the 
fight.  In  the  world,  He  said,  ye  shall  have  tribula- 
tion (John  xvi.  33).  But  He  taught  us  to  pray  not 
to  be  captured  by  the  power  of  the  foe.  And  so  He 
228 


THE  PR  A  YER  OF  PR  A  YERS 

added  the  other  prayer:  "But  deliver  us  from  the 
evil  one,  or  from  the  evil.)} 

The  evil  from  which  we  ask  to  be  delivered  is  the 
evil  which  demoralises  ;  it  is  the  spiritual  evil  which 
stains  and  darkens  the  soul ;  it  is  the  ascendency  of 
the  wicked  one  over  us.  A  man  may  fall  into 
temptation  and  rise  again  ;  but  he  may  also  yield 
himself  so  to  temptation  as  to  become  enlisted  on 
the  side  of  the  evil,  a  willing  captive  to  much-loved 
sin.  Temptation  so  yielded  to  leads  to  a  growing 
domination  of  evil.  The  character  deteriorates. 
The  conscience  is  silenced.  The  moral  resistance 
is  at  an  end.  Then  that  which  is  most  truly  called 
evil  gains  its  sway.  Other  things  called  evil,  such 
as  pain,  loss,  disappointment,  bereavement,  are  not 
evil  in  themselves.  They  may  from  a  certain 
standpoint  be  called  good,  since  all  things  work 
together  for  good  to  them  that  love  God.  The 
cross  may  be  the  crown.  We  do  not  pray  to  be 
delivered  from  the  cross,  but  only  from  the  mighty, 
overmastering  power  of  the  evil  spirit,  which  can 
desolate  and  demoralise  the  soul. 

The  prayer,  as  given  in  the  Authorised  Version, 
ends  with  a  doxology.  Lightfoot  tells  us  that  a 
doxology  somewhat  resembling  this  was  used  in 
Jewish  worship.  As  the  doxology  and  amen  are 
not  given   in    t^c   parallel    passage    in   St.    Luke's 

m 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

gospel,  Lightfoot  infers  that  on  the  first  occasion 
our  Lord  gave  it  as  a  prayer  for  public  worship,  and 
on  the  second,  in  answer  to  the  request  of  His 
disciples,  "  Lord  teach  us  to  pray/'  as  a  model  for 
private  prayer.  The  doxology,  however,  and  the 
amen  are  not  found  in  the  best  MSS.  of  St.  Matthew 
and  are  omitted  in  the  Revised  Version.  Notwith- 
standing this,  the  doxology  is  beautiful  and  har- 
monious. It  reminds  us  that  the  kingdom,  whether 
we  pray  or  pray  not,  is  the  Lord's,  and  that  He  is 
the  Governor  among  the  nations. 

Such,  then,  is  the  Lord's  Prayer.  It  is  written  for 
private  or  public  use,  so  given  to  us  by  Christ  that 
we  may  use  it ;  but  it  is  so  to  be  used  that  we  may 
understand  it ;  and  so  to  be  understood  by  us  that 
we  may  mean  it,  and  so  to  be  meant  as  by  those  who 
love  it.  Our  spirit  must  be  as  His  when  we  pray. 
We  must  be  free  from  the  exasperations,  pettiness 
and  resentments  of  the  worldly  aspect  and  feeling  of 
life.  We  must  be  in  love  and  charity  with  our  neigh- 
bours. For  more  than  all  words,  above  all  prayer  is 
the  spirit  of  prayer ;  and  the  spirit  of  prayer  is  that 
spirit  of  Christ  which  maketh  intercession  for  us 
according  to  the  will  of  God  (Rom.  viii.). 

He,  therefore,   that   would   use   aright   even    the 
Lord's  Prayer,  must  seek  the  Lord's  spirit  to  shed 
abroad  the  love  of  God  in  his  heart. 
230 


WHAT   IS   PRECIOUS  IN   LIFE 


St.  Matt.  vi.  19-34 

Lay  not  up  for  yourselves  treasures  upon  earth,  where  moth  and 
rust  doth  corrupt,  and  where  thieves  break  through  and  steal  : 

But  lay  up  for  yourselves  treasures  in  heaven,  where  neither 
moth  nor  dust  doth  corrupt,  and  where  thieves  do  not  break  through 
nor  steal : 

For  where  your  treasure  is,  there  will  your  heart  be  also. 

The  light  of  the  body  is  the  eye  :  if  therefore  thine  eye  be 
single,  thy  whole  body  shall  be  full  of  light. 

But  if  thine  eye  be  evil,  thy  whole  body  shall  be  full  of  darkness. 
If  therefore  the  light  that  is  in  thee  be  darkness,  how  great  is  that 
darkness 

No  man  can  serve  two  masters  :  for  either  he  will  hate  the 
one,  and  love  the  other  ;  or  else  he  will  hold  to  the  one,  and  despise 
the  other.     Ye  cannot  serve  God  and  mammon. 

Therefore  I  say  unto  you,  Take  no  thought  for  your  life,  what 
ye  shall  eat,  or  what  ye  shall  drink  ;  nor  yet  for  your  body,  what  ye 
shall  put  on.  Is  not  the  life  more  than  meat,  and  the  body  than 
raiment? 

Behold  the  fowls  of  the  air  :  for  they  sow  not,  neither  do  they 
eap,  nor  gather  into  barns;  yet  your  heavenly  Father  feedeth  them. 
Are  ye  not  much  better  than  they  ? 

Which  of  you  by  taking  thought  can  add  one  cubit  unto  his 
stature  ? 

And  why  take  ye  thought  for  raiment?  Consider  the  lilies  of 
the  field,  how  they  grow  ;  they  toil  not,  neither  do  they  spin  : 

And  yet  I  say  unto  you,  That  even  Solomon  in  all  his  glory 
was  not  arrayed  like  one  of  these. 

Wherefore,  if  God  so  clothe  the  grass  of  the  field,  which  to-day 
is,  and  to-morrow  is  cast  into  the  oven,  shall  he  not  much  more 
clothe  you,  O  ye  of  little  faith  ? 

Therefore  take  no  thought,  saying,  What  shall  we  eat  ?  or 
What  shall  we  drink  ?  or,  Wherewithal  shall  we  be  clothed  ? 

(For  after  all  these  things  do  the  Gentiles  seek  :)  for  your 
heavenly  Father  knoweth  that  ye  have  need  of  all  these  things. 

But  seek  ye  first  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  his  righteousness ; 
and  all  these  things  shall  be  added  unto  you. 

Take  therefore  no  thought  for  the  morrow  :  for  the  morrow 
shall  take  thought  for  the  things  of  itself.  Sufficient  unto  the  day  is 
the  evil  thereof. 


WHAT  IS  PRECIOUS  IN  LIFE 

THERE  is  a  snare  of  unreality  in  life.  Its  true 
purpose  is  often  lost  sight  of  in  the  desire  for 
some  secondary  advantage.  Man  no  longer  works 
for  the  purpose  of  fulfilling  his  labour,  but  for  the 
sake  of  something  else  which  seems  more  profitable. 
He  exchanges  pride  in  workmanship  for  greed.  He 
does  not  seek  to  turn  out  good  but  paying  work. 
The  chink  of  the  coin  is  more  pleasant  in  his  ears 
than  the  call  to  perfection.  Art  is  not  pursued  for 
art's  sake,  but  for  the  sake  of  gain.  Religion  shares 
in  this  prostitution.  Once  it  was  the  simple  necessity 
of  man's  nature  ;  now,  it  becomes  a  profitable  fashion. 
Piety  can  win  the  profit  of  reputation  and  gold.  It 
is  no  more  the  outcome  of  the  soul's  ardour ;  it  is 
the  vehicle  of  his  avarice,  and  it  has  become  unreal. 
A  man  gives  alms,  says  his  prayers,  performs  his  fast, 
for  the  sake  of  advantage.  When  things  are  thus, 
religion  is  diverted  from  its  proper  end.  A  man's 
aims  are  degraded.  His  heart  is  divided.  His  trust 
*33 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

in  God  is  undermined.  The  advantage  which  is 
reaped  without  is  accompanied  by  a  deterioration 
within.  The  reputation  and  the  purse  may  increase, 
but  the  character  declines.  The  soul  of  man  is 
wounded  within  him. 

The  injury  is  within.  The  outward  deeds  of 
piety,  almsgiving,  prayer,  and  fasting,  are  not  evil 
in  themselves.  It  is  the  worldly  spirit  which  is  to 
blame.  The  prevalence  of  unworthy  and  secondary 
motives  vitiates  the  deeds  of  charity  and  piety.  It 
will  be  understood,  then,  why  our  Lord  so  earnestly 
directs  the  attention  of  His  disciples  within.  The 
heart  can  purify,  and  the  heart  can  pollute  every 
deed.  The  action  needs  to  be  sanctified  by  the 
motive;  the  gift  by  the  altar.  Now,  if  the  true 
spirit  of  religion  be  the  filial  spirit,  every  action 
should  be  done  as  a  son  works  for  the  love  of  his 
father.  The  religion  which  finds  its  support  in 
worldly  custom,  worldly  ambition,  worldly  gain,  is 
not  the  religion  which  the  Father  of  all  can  accept, 
since  He  looks  not  on  the  outward  appearance, 
but  on  the  heart.  Christ  seeks  to  enforce  a  re- 
ligion animated  by  a  filial  spirit.  He  sees  in  the 
customs  and  practices  around  Him  a  religion 
which  has  become  unreal.  He  sees  in  it  a  re- 
ligion which  is  degrading  instead  of  raising  man's 
character.  He  points  out  the  threefold  degradation 
234 


WHAT  IS  PRECIOUS  IN  LIFE 

— Degradation  of  aim ;  division  of  heart ;   lack   of 
faith  in  God. 

i.  Man's  aims  are  degraded. 

This  is  the  theme  of  the  early  part  of  Matthew  vi. 
Christ  takes  the  works  of  piety  in  order.  He  shows 
how  almsgiving,  prayer,  and  fasting,  may  be  prac- 
tised, not  in  a  religious,  but  in  a  worldly  spirit.  He 
does  not  deny  that  this  may  be  profitable ;  on  the 
contrary,  He  admits  the  advantage  which  may 
accrue.  He  says  of  those  who  act  thus,  "They 
have  their  reward"  (Matt.  vi.  3,  5,  and  16).  They 
have  their  reward  in  the  applause  of  men,  in  the 
increase  of  their  reputation  for  liberality  and  piety. 
But  such  a  reward  can  only  be  pleasing  to  a  spirit 
which  has  already  become  deteriorated.  Its  desires 
must  have  fallen  low.  The  glory  of  divine  things, 
the  pleasure  of  a  Father's  smile,  the  delight  of  grow- 
ing into  a  Father's  likeness,  the  satisfaction  of  being 
and  doing  that  which  the  Father  would  wish,  must 
have  lost  their  charm.  The  tastes  and  ambitions 
must  have  become  coarse  and  earthly.  The  love  of 
this  world's  treasures  must  have  taken  hold  of  the 
heart. 

Hence  comes  the  caution  of  verse  19.     "Lay  not 
up  for  yourselves  treasures  upon  the  earth."     The 
warning  comes  in  fitly  after  the  description  of  the 
earthly  sort  of  religion  which  rested  on  worldly  | 
235 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

and  applause.  Christ  indicates  to  those  who  follow 
the  fashionable  religion  of  their  day  that,  notwith- 
standing all  appearance  to  the  contrary — their  alms, 
prayers,  and  fasts — they  are  but  worldlings,  whose 
treasure  is  on  earth  and  whose  heart  must  be  there 
also. 

In  pity  and  tenderness  He  reminds  them  of  what 
they  must  very  well  know,  that  such  treasure  is 
transitory.  It  is  exposed  to  the  natural  corruption 
of  all  earthly  things.  The  moth  and  rust  can 
destroy.  Wealth  and  reputation  wear  out.  It  is 
exposed  also  to  the  rivalry  and  robbery  of  those 
whose  interests  are  contrary  to  ours.  The  thieves 
may  break  through  and  steal  (verses  19,  20). 
But  it  is  the  inward  degradation  which  presses  most 
upon  our  Lord's  thought.  No  man  can  be  thus 
enamoured  of  earthly  reward  or  reputation  without 
bringing  his  heart  to  this  earthly  level.  The  heart, 
which  is  the  seat  of  religion ;  the  heart,  which  might 
be  the  source  of  glorious  and  ennobling  emotions  ; 
the  heart  is  sinking  into  the  mud  of  mere  earthli- 
ness.  It  must  be  so ;  for  where  the  treasure  is, 
there  will  the  heart  be  also  (verse  21).  We  may 
test  ourselves  by  asking,  What  do  we  love  best  ? 
The  whole  of  our  nature  takes  its  law  from  the 
heart.  Our  works,  our  thoughts,  our  conversation, 
take  their  tinge  and  tone  from  our  hearts.  The 
236 


WHAT  IS  PRECIOUS  IN  LIFE 

motive  which  animates  it  infects  or  illumines  the 
whole  of  our  being.  "  The  light  of  the  body  is  the 
eye  "  (verse  22). 

The  light  of  the  body  is  the  eye.     The  illustration 
is  simple  enough.     If  we  close  the  eye,   we  are  in 
darkness.     If    we   open    it   to   heaven's   light,    our 
whole  frame  partakes  of  the  joy  of  that  light.     A 
pleasant  thing  it  is  to  behold  the  sun.     Every  pulse, 
every  muscle,  every  nerve,  seems  to  partake  of  the 
brightness  which  is  poured  in  upon  the  open  eye. 
In    the   same   way   everything   depends    upon    the 
purity  and  simplicity  of  motive.     He  is  a  good  man 
whose  motives  and  aims  are  good.     "  If,  then,  thine 
eye  be  single,  thy  whole  body  is  full  of  light "  (verse 
22).     The  whole  soul  passes  under  the  sway  of  the 
motive.     If  the  heart  is  enlisted,  then  the  whole  of  our 
being  is  brought  into  service.     The  single  eye  here  is 
like  the  honest  and  good  heart  spoken  of  in  the  parable 
of  the  sower  (Luke  viii.    15).     But,    on   the   other 
hand,   "  If  thine  eye  be  evil,  thy  whole  body  is  full 
of  darkness"  (verse  23).     If  the    aim    and   motive 
be  base  and  low,  the  whole  nature  suffers.     It    is 
as  though  an  evil  darkness  spread  over  it.     Nothing 
is  seen  in  its  true  colours.      The  heart  colours  every- 
thing.    The  principle  which  Christ  declares  is  one 
which  is  recognised  by    many  writers.     Sir  Walter 
Scott   in    "Redgauntlct  "  represent!    Alan    Fairford 
2J7 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

writing  to  Daisie  Latimer.  "  All  that  happens  to 
thee  gets  a  touch  of  the  wonderful  and  sublime  from 
thine  own  rich  imagination.  Didst  thou  ever  see 
what  artists  call  a  Claude  Lorraine  glass,  which 
spreads  its  own  particular  hue  over  the  whole  land- 
scape which  you  see  through  it  ?  Thou  beholdest 
ordinary  events  just  through  such  a  medium."  In 
the  bad  sense  the  same  principle  is  expressed  in  the 
well  known  lines : 

"  All  seems  infected  that  the  infected  spy, 
As  all  looks  yellow  to  the  jaundiced  eye." 

So  in  the  moral  world.  Worldly  eyes  see  every- 
thing from  a  worldly  point  of  view.  The  merit  and 
value  of  everything  is  so  measured.  Higher  con- 
siderations do  not  appeal  to  them.  The  eye  is  evil. 
Darkness  pervades  the  whole  nature.  Heaven's 
light  finds  no  entrance,  or  is  seen  only  through  a 
false  tinted  medium.  The  deterioration  is  complete 
when  the  organ  which  should  be  the  vehicle  of  light 
is  either  closed  to  light  or  distorts  it.  "  If,  there- 
fore, the  light  that  is  in  thee  be  darkness,  how  great 
is  that  darkness  "  (verse  23). 

11.   The  heart  is  divided. 

The  picture  which  our  Lord  drew  in  the  previous 
verses  prepares  for  what  follows.  The  eye,  which 
should  give  entrance  to  pure  light,  may,  through 
238 


1; 


WHAT  IS  PRECIOUS  IN  LIFE 

perversion  or  disease,  give  only  imperfect  admission 
to  it.  The  light  suffers  from  the  medium  through 
which  it  passes.  The  motive  of  the  heart  perverts 
the  vision  of  the  soul.  But  man  is  a  creature  of 
mixed  motives.  The  best  are  not  wholly  pure  in 
motive.  The  worst  are  not  wholly  corrupt.  The 
Pharisee,  whose  heart  was  smitten  with  worldliness, 
and  whose  pride  was  inflated  with  the  world's  ap- 
plause, had  no  wish  to  be  wholly  irreligious.  Mixed 
feelings  governed  his  life.  The  hope  that  he  was 
truly  religious  did  not  quite  forsake  him,  even  while 
he  paid  such  abject  homage  to  the  world.  He 
wished  to  stand  well  with  God,  while  he  secured 
the  high  opinion  of  man.  His  eye  was  not  single ; 
double  desires  possessed  his  heart :  worldliness  con- 
fused heaven's  light.  He  was  attempting  the  im- 
possible. Against  this  our  Lord  uttered  His  caution, 
"  No  man  can  serve  two  masters  "  (verse  24). 

"  No  man  can  serve  two  masters ;  for  either  he 
will  hate  the  one,  and  love  the  other  ;  or  else  he  will 
hold  to  the  one,  and  despise  the  other."  We  see 
the  reason  at  once.  The  heart  can  have  but  one 
allegiance  at  a  time.  Wc  may  have  many  friends. 
We  can  have  but  one  master ;  for  the  soul  must 
have  its  preferences  ;  and  it  will  soon  choose  be- 
tween master  and  master.  Nay,  according  to  our 
Lord's  previous  sayings,  the  soul  has  already  chosen, 
239 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

The  Pharisee  had  given  his  allegiance  to  the  world. 
In  the  world's  applause  and  approval  he  found  his 
joy.  There  he  found,  as  he  had  sought,  his  reward ; 
there  was  his  treasure ;  there  was  his  heart.  The 
service  of  God,  under  the  circumstances,  was  only 
a  pretence.  How  could  he  give  his  heart  to  God, 
whose  heart  was  already  bound  to  the  service  of  the 
world  and  whose  love  and  whose  hopes  were  there  ? 
No  belief  in  our  own  piety  can  make  us  pious  under 
such  circumstances.  No  worldly  approval  could 
make  us  servants  of  God  when  our  hearts  were 
already  given  away  from  Him.  "  Ye  cannot  serve 
God  and  mammon  "  (verse  24). 

The  evil  of- this  divided  heart  is  that  it  really 
means  alienation  from  God.  It  also  means  that  the 
character  cannot  grow  in  unity  with  itself.  The 
difference  between  greatness  and  littleness  among 
men  is  found  in  the  presence  or  lack  of  concentra- 
tion. One  man  gives  his  whole  soul  and  mind  to 
the  matter  in  hand,  another  can  only  give  a  dis- 
tracted attention.  In  the  one  case  the  whole  man 
is  on  the  spot,  in  the  other  it  is  but  a  portion  of  the 
man.  The  one  can,  like  a  good  general,  concentrate 
his  force  where  it  is  wanted,  the  other  can  gather 
together  but  a  remnant  of  his  powers.  Transfer  the 
thought  to  the  moral  nature.  There  are  men  who 
are  ruled  by  one  great  and  supreme  idea.  Every 
240 


WHAT  IS  PRECIOUS  IN  LIFE 

faculty  and  power  is  devoted  to  it.  Such  a  fact 
gives  dignity  to  a  man's  life.  If  the  leading  idea 
be  a  high  and  noble  one,  the  character  becomes 
ennobled  in  the  pursuit  of  it.  But  when  the  life  is 
ruled  by  no  noble  idea,  character  declines.  When 
it  is  not  governed  by  one  idea  it  becomes  forceless. 
To  be  at  the  mercy  of  one's  passions  is  to  be  at  the 
mercy  of  many  winds.  The  course  shaped  under 
such  circumstances  will  be  a  wandering,  uncertain 
course.  The  man's  life  will  be  indecisive,  profitless. 
His  character  will  never  knit  together.  He  will 
never  achieve  the  unity  of  his  manhood.  He  will 
have  learned  little  and  be  fit  for  little.  There  will 
be  a  constant  discord  in  his  life.  Its  music  will  be 
broken  and  unsatisfactory.  The  witness  of  the 
Prophet  against  the  men  of  his  day  will  be  true. 
Their  heart  is  divided :  now  shall  they  be  found 
faulty  (Hosea  x.  2). 

The  worldly  spirit  divides  the  heart  from  God, 
and  dissipates  all  force  and  concentration.  Life  is 
a  vain  attempt  at  impossible  compromises.  Ye 
cannot  serve  God  and  mammon.  It  is  Christ's 
warning.  And  yet  thousands  still  attempt  the  im- 
possible. Their  heart  is  given  to  the  frivolity  and 
emptiness  of  life,  yet  they  cultivate  the  fashionable 
side  of  religious  life.  They  will  take  part  in  a  fete, 
in  theatricals,  and  cafes   chantants  Un'   religious  or 

24I  Q 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

philanthropic  objects.  They  will  admire  enthusi- 
astically the  picturesque  exterior  of  religious  life. 
They  will  delight  in  its  displays.  They  may  even 
go  slumming.  But  they  will  not  abandon  their 
sacrifices  at  the  altar  of  mammon.  With  their  taste 
they  appreciate  religion.  With  their  hearts  they 
serve  the  world.  They  feel  the  unreality  of  their 
position.  They  seek  to  allay  the  reproaches  of  con- 
science by  halting,  spasmodic,  and  conventional 
attentions  to  religious  claims  and  duties.  They  en- 
deavour to  reconcile  the  irreconcilable.  They  like 
to  believe  themselves  pious,  while  their  hearts  are 
given  to  the  world.  To  such  Christ's  words  are 
clear  and  irrevocable.  u  No  man  can  serve  two 
masters.     Ye  cannot  serve  God  and  mammon." 

Must,  then,  religious  people  go  out  of  the  world  ? 
Is  the  only  religious  life  the  life  of  the  recluse  and 
the  ascetic  ?  By  no  means.  It  is  of  the  heart  that 
Christ  is  speaking.  A  man  may  know  where  his 
heart  is  by  asking  where  his  treasure  is.  What  can 
he  the  most  ill  afford  to  part  with  ?  What  does  he 
most  tenaciously  cling  to?  He  will  thus  know 
which  is  the  eye  he  must  needs  pluck  out,  or  the 
hand  which  is  better  cut  off.  But  if,  indeed,  he 
lives  in  the  world,  and  its  gew-gaws,  and  wealth, 
and  honours  are  nothing  to  him,  because  he  wor- 
ships honour,  truth,  love,  fidelity,  purity,  God,  more 
242 


WHAT  IS  PRECIOUS  IN  LIFE 

than  any  of  those ;  then  wherever  God's  providence 
places  him,  let  him  use  life  and  all  that  it  brings  in 
the  highest  service.  He  is  in  the  midst  of  these 
things,  but  he  is  not  betrayed  by  them;  for  his 
heart  is  otherwhere.  He  is  like  the  painter  or  the 
poet  who  passes  through  the  fashionable  drawing- 
room,  or  the  market  of  the  city  untainted,  because 
he  sees  beauties  which  outshine  all  these,  or  hears 
music  which  is  sweeter  than  all  the  sounds  of  earth. 
His  heart  is  above  these  things :  he  is  unspoiled 
by  them — and  he  can  live  and  reign  among  them, 
because  his  throne  is  placed  higher  than  the  highest 
which  earth  can  understand.  He  whose  heart  is 
with  God  may  live  unspotted  in  the  world.  The 
deadly  drink  which  poisons  others  he  can  taste 
without  peril.  He  can  take  up  the  venomous  beast 
and  remain  unharmed ;  for  there  is  a  fire  of  higher 
love  into  which  he  can  cast  all  harmful  things. 

But  it  is  not  thus  with  all.  Some  must  be  saved 
by  fear;  the  robe  of  worldliness  must  be  torn  off; 
he  must  hate  the  garment  spotted  by  the  flesh 
(Jude  23).  Happy  is  he  who,  being  crucified  with 
Christ,  is  crucified  also  to  the  world.  But  till  we  arc 
dead  to  the  world,  there  is  the  danger  that  we  may  be- 
come demoralised  ami  weakened  by  becoming  worldly, 
and  then  our  lives  also  become  profitlrss  through  the 
vain  endeavour  to  serve  God  and  inamnmn. 
*43 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

in.   Trust  in  God  is  undermined. 

When  the  heart  is  fixed  intently  upon  worldly 
advantage,  it  slowly  but  surely  loses  its  trust  in 
God.  Secondary  means  are  considered.  The  spirit 
of  ambition  and  the  arts  of  management  take  pos- 
session of  the  soul.  The  superintending  wisdom  of 
God  is  forgotten  ;  the  fatherly  love  is  lost  sight  of. 
Anxiety  born  of  over  eagerness  fills  the  heart.  The 
jealousies,  the  heartburnings,  the  cares  of  the  worldly 
life  become  our  portion.  We  cannot  leave  things  in 
God's  hands.  We  lose  faith,  for  the  childlike  spirit 
is  no  longer  ours.  That  priceless  gift  has  been  lost. 
In  its  place  comes  a  load  of  earthly  anxieties. 
Hence  our  Lord  gives  this  counsel :  "  Take  no 
thought  (or  rather,  Be  not  anxious)  for  your  life, 
what  ye  shall  eat  or  what  ye  shall  drink ;  nor  yet 
for  your  body,  what  ye  shall  put  on.  Is  not  the  life 
more  than  the  food,  and  the  body  than  the  raiment  ? 
Behold  the  birds  of  the  heaven;  for  they  sow  not, 
neither  do  they  reap,  nor  gather  into  barns ;  yet 
your  heavenly  Father  feedeth  them.  Are  ye  not 
much  better  than  they?"  (verses  25,  26).  Thus  our 
Lord  leads  His  hearers  back  to  the  simple  life  of 
childlike  trust.  In  being  worldly,  He  seems  to  say, 
you  have  gathered  anxieties  which  are  inconsistent 
with  the  filial  spirit.  If  you  realise  the  heavenly 
Father,  you  will  not  need  to  be  the  victim  of  such 
244 


WHAT  IS  PRECIOUS  IN  LIFE 

anxious  cares.  To  understand  His  love  is  to  be  at 
rest  about  the  future.  The  terrible  to-morrow,  which 
casts  its  heavy  shadow  upon  so  many  hearts,  need 
never  darken  yours — for  your  heavenly  Father,  who 
feeds  the  birds,  deems  you  much  better  than  they. 

The  connection  needs  to  be  observed.  The  link 
between  verse  24  and  25  is  very  strong.  The 
divided  life  is  vain.  Ye  cannot  serve  God  and  mam- 
mon. Therefore — on  this  very  ground — I  say  unto 
you,  "  Be  not  anxious  for  your  life,"  &c.  The 
anxious  spirit  is  a  sign  that  the  mammon  power 
rules  the  heart.  It  is  not  the  rich  man  only  who 
is  a  worldling.  The  poor  man  who  is  the  prey  of 
gnawing  misgivings  betrays  the  power  which  the 
world  has  over  his  soul.  In  the  struggle  of  existence 
the  eyes  of  men — rich  and  poor  alike — are  drawn 
too  much  to  the  things  that  perish.  The  rich  who 
cling  to  their  wealth  and  the  poor  who  grasp  at 
it  practically  say  that  a  man's  life  does  consist 
in  the  abundance  of  the  things  possessed.  To 
such  the  meat  is  more  than  life ;  the  raiment 
more  than  the  body.  u  Having  food  and  raiment, 
let  us  therewith  be  content"  (1  Tim.  vi.  8), 
is  in  their  view  a  text  for  philosophers  who  arc 
enamoured  of  their  studies  and  who  ask  no  more 
than  strength  of  body  and  mind  to  continue  diem. 
The  quiet  peace  which  faith  In  1  Fathers  love  1 

*4J 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

bring,  cannot  be  the  portion  of  those  who  cherish 
discontent.  Feverish  and  greedy  impatience  destroys 
trust.  The  anxiety  to  increase  material  possessions 
springs  from  the  same  parentage  as  the  miserliness 
which  hoards  them.  The  craving  for  more  pierces 
the  soul  through  with  many  sorrows  (i  Tim.  vi.  10). 
"Take  no  thought,"  says  our  Lord.  Does  He, 
then,  check  the  impulses  of  prudence  ?  Is  thrift  incon- 
sistent with  the  heavenly  spirit  ?  Not  so ;  our  Lord 
is  not  thinking  of  the  calm  and  prudent  spirit  which 
endeavours  by  a  wise  forethought  to  prevent  himself 
or  his  children  becoming  a  burden  to  others.  A  man 
is  bound  to  provide  for  his  own  (i  Tim.  v.  8).  The 
law,  which  bids  us  do  to  others  as  we  would  they 
should  do  unto  us,  sanctions  this  proper  provision 
for  our  own.  The  self-denial  wThich  seeks  to  avoid 
being  burdensome  to  others  is  but  a  part  of  brotherly 
love.  Our  Lord  by  no  means  sanctions  that  heed- 
less selfishness  which  is  content  to  enjoy  itself  and 
leave  the  burden  of  to-morrow  to  others.  He  only 
chides  the  feverish,  worldly  spirit,  which  frets  and 
harasses  itself  with  needless  fears  and  greedy 
anxieties.  He  would  say,  do  your  duty  to-day. 
Act  with  courage,  diligence,  and  prudence  to-day. 
Do  not  fret  after  the  impossible.  Do  not  give  way 
to  the  spirit  which  desires  to  be  something  which 
God  has  not  made  you.  Play  the  game  according  to 
246 


WHAT  IS  PRECIOUS  IN  LIFE 

the  rules.  Do  your  best  with  the  tools  which  have 
been  given  you.  No  anxiety  can  alter  the  conditions 
of  life.  "  Which  of  you  by  taking  thought  can  add 
one  cubit  to  his  stature  ? "  (verse  27).  We  may 
improve  the  conditions  of  life  by  industry  and  fore- 
sight. This  is  to  use  the  talents  God  has  given. 
To  be  the  victim  of  restless  desires  and  burning 
discontent  is  as  wrong  as  it  is  useless.  It  tends  to 
despondency,  indolence,  or  dishonour.  Because  we 
have  only  one  talent,  we  are  not  therefore  justified 
in  wrapping  it  in  a  napkin  and  doing  nothing.  The 
men  of  Chitral  did  not  lay  down  their  arms  because 
their  forces  were  scant  and  their  difficulties  many. 
They  did  not  vainly  fret ;  but  they  planned  prudently 
and  fought  bravely.  They  did  their  best  with  such 
resources  as  they  had.  They  were  not  the  victims 
of  fretful,  feverish  anxiety.  This  had  unnerved 
them.  So  would  Christ  have  His  soldier  to  fight, 
courageously  and  thoughtfully — not  conjuring  up 
new  fears,  but  facing  present  difficulties,  mindful  of 
the  love  which  never  fails  and  of  the  eye  which  never 
sleeps. 

Every  care  may  be  cast  upon  God,  when  every 
duty  is  being  manfully  done.  St.  Peter  gave  the 
counsel  "  Casting  all  your  care  upon  Him."  He 
used  the  same  word  which  our  Lord  uses  here. 
Care  in  tin  sense  of  fretful,  distracting  anxiety 
247 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

should  have  no  place  in  the  heart  of  the  true  son 
of  God — for  He  (God)  careth  (the  word  is  different 
now :  it  has  no  touch  of  fever  or  distress  in  it)  for 
you  (i  Pet.  v.  7). 

All  disturbing,  anxious  care  may  go.  We  may 
rely  upon  our  Father,  if  we  are  doing  fitly  His  will. 
There  need  be  no  anxious  thought  for  food :  He 
feeds  the  birds  ;  nor  yet  for  raiment :  He  clothes 
the  lilies  in  their  splendid  hues.  "  Verily  I  say 
unto  you  that  even  Solomon  in  all  his  glory  was 
not  arrayed  like  one  of  these.  Wherefore,  if  God 
so  clothe  the  grass  of  the  field,  which  to-day  is, 
and  to-morrow  is  cast  into  the  oven,  shall  He  not 
much  more  clothe  you,  O  ye  of  little  faith  ?  "  (verses 
29,  30). 

We  sometimes  hear  language  which  implies,  if  it 
does  not  say,  that  our  Lord  here  counselled  impos- 
sibilities. If  the  world,  it  is  said,  were  to  act  upon 
Christ's  advice,  it  would  be  ill  for  the  world.  Men 
would  go  without  the  necessities  of  life.  But  we 
have  seen  that  our  Lord  does  not  forbid  thrift  and 
prudence,  but  only  that  worldly-minded  anxiety  that 
cannot  do  its  duty  to-day  without  peering  curiously 
and  fearfully  into  the  face  of  to-morrow.  He  is 
only  the  foe  of  distracting  and  needless  care. 
But  further,  He  recognises  the  ordinary  needs  of 
life.  If  He  counsels  us  against  this  troubled 
248 


WHAT  IS  PRECIOUS  IN  LIFE 

anxiety,  He  declares  that  the  heavenly  Father 
recognises  ordinary  human  needs.  "  Therefore  " — 
such  are  His  words — "take  no  thought,  saying  what 
shall  we  eat,  or  what  shall  we  drink,  or  where- 
withal shall  we  be  clothed?  (for  after  all  these 
things  do  the  Gentiles  seek)  for  your  heavenly 
Father  knoweth  that  ye  have  need  of  these  things  n 
(verses  31,  32).  Ye  have  need  of  all  these  things, 
and  your  heavenly  Father  knoweth  it.  He  does 
not  counsel  idleness.  He  worked  with  His  hands, 
giving  us  an  example  that  we  should  follow  His 
steps ;  but  He  worked  as  always  under  the  care 
of  the  heavenly  Father;  and  He  would  make  us 
partakers  of  His  spirit,  that  we  might  never  doubt 
the  Father's  love,  or  imagine  that  He  did  not  know 
that  we  have  need  of  all  these  things.  u  The  hand 
of  the  diligent  maketh  rich,"  said  the  Old  Testament 
writer,  remarking  on  the  success  which  attends 
industry  (Prov.  x.  4).  Let  him  work  with  his  hands 
that  he  may  have  to  give  to  him  that  needeth,  said 
the  apostle,  remarking  on  the  use  of  wealth  (Eph.  iv. 
28).  And  our  Lord  gave  no  counsel  which  is  hostile 
to  the  industry  thus  inculcated.  He  rather  thought 
of  the  spirit  in  which  life  and  work  should  be  faced. 
He  sought  to  banish  the  anxious  care  which  grew  put 
of  forgetfulness  of  the  Fat  Ik  is  love.  He  sought 
to  banish  it  also,  because  it  was  a  sign  that  the  heart 
M9 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

had  forgotten  the  higher  in   its  eagerness    for   the 
lower. 

Wherever  this  care  existed,  the  true  aim  of  life 
was  obscured.  The  heavenly  Father  and  the 
Father's  kingdom  were  lost  sight  of;  and  therefore 
He  closed  this  section  of  the  Sermon  by  bringing  back 
the  thoughts  of  His  disciples  to  this  supreme  end  of 
life.  Do  not  give  way  to  anxious  care,  but  "  seek  ye 
first  the  kingdom  of  God  and  His  righteousness." 
We  are  taken  back  to  the  language  with  which  the 
Sermon  opens — the  first  benediction  told  of  the 
kingdom  of  heaven.  It  was  to  be  the  portion  of 
those  who  sought  not  their  own.  It  belonged  to  the 
poor  in  spirit.  "  It  was  the  first  of  Christ's  bless- 
ings. For  this  indeed  is  the  highest  blessing  of 
the  sons  of  men,  viz.,  that  they  should  realise  that 
they  belong  to  no  earthly  kingdom.  The  life  which 
is  circumscribed  by  the  realm  of  earthly  things 
is  not  worthy  of  those  who  are  sons  of  the  Father 
of  spirits.  The  sons  of  God  must  realise  the  divine 
order.  The  sons  of  God  must  seek  the  heavenly 
kingdom.  And  therefore  Jesus  Christ,  having 
pointed  out  the  grave  defects  of  the  unreal  religion 
which  prevailed  among  the  pietists  of  His  day, 
urges  on  His  disciples  the  supreme  duty  of  making 
the  kingdom — the  heavenly  kingdom — first  in  their 
thoughts  and  first  in  their  aims.  Seek  ye  first  the 
250 


WHAT  IS  PRECIOUS  IN  LIFE 

kingdom ;  but  realise  that  this  kingdom  is  not 
material  or  temporal.  Its  pomp  is  not  the  pomp 
of  earth.  Its  might  is  not  that  which  the  world 
counts  might.  Seek  the  kingdom,  but  seek  it  with 
the  remembrance  of  that  which  constitutes  its  glory 
and  its  stength.  Seek  the  kingdom  and  the  righteous- 
ness of  Him  who  is  its  King. 

Righteousness,  said  the  wise  man,  exalteth  a 
nation  (Prov.  xiv.  34).  How  high  and  exalted  then 
must  that  kingdom  be  whose  very  laws  are  righteous- 
ness and  whose  king  is  the  Lord  our  righteousness ! 
The  world  is  slow  to  believe  it,  but  it  is  notwith- 
standing true,  that  righteousness  is  the  strongest 
thing  upon  earth.  St.  Jerome  accounted  justice  as 
the  mother  of  all  virtues.  He  was  right,  seeing 
that  without  justice  there  could  be  no  virtue.  So  in 
the  strongest  monarchy  of  all  it  is  said — M  A  sceptre 
of  righteousness  (or  uprightness)  is  the  sceptre  of 
Thy  kingdom.  Thou  hast  loved  righteousness  and 
hated  iniquity,  therefore  God,  even  Thy  God,  hath 
anointed  Thee  with  the  oil  of  gladness  above  Thy 
fellows  "  (Ps.  xlv.  6,  7,  and  Heb.  i.  8,  9).  Joy  and 
triumph  of  the  highest  sort  waits  on  the  righteous 
King.  His  exaltation  is  above  His  fellows,  because 
He  loved  righteousness;  and  His  joy  is  as  His 
exaltation.  The  language  of  our  Lord  is  similar. 
It  embodies  for  His  disciples  the  same  principle. 
251 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

Fulness  of  joy  and  success  wait  upon  righteousness. 
Seek  first  the  kingdom  and  His  righteousness  ;  and 
all  these  things  shall  be  added  unto  you  (verse  33). 

But  is  this  true  ?  Do  the  lovers  and  followers 
of  righteousness  gain  all  these  things  ?  Is  it  not 
the  witness  of  the  sacred  writer  that  they  wandered 
about  in  sheepskins  and  goatskins,  being  destitute, 
afflicted,  tormented  ?  (Heb.  xi.  37,  38).  And  was 
not  this  because  they  sought  first  the  kingdom  and 
the  righteousness  ?  They  showed  the  world  indeed 
that  there  was  a  treasure  more  precious  than  all 
which  the  world  held  dear.  But  did  they  win  these 
other  things  ?  They  had  what  God  saw  fit  and 
best.  They  were  fed  with  the  food  which  was  most 
convenient  for  them.  This  was  enough  for  them  ; 
for  thus  they  showed  that  man  doth  not  live  by 
bread  alone,  but  by  every  word  that  proceedeth  out 
of  the  mouth  of  God  ;  and  they  realised  thus  the 
great  and  spiritual  glory  of  God's  kingdom.  And  if 
more  be  needed,  they  became  possessors  of  all 
things  earthly,  as  they  held  the  heavenly  key  which 
explained  all  things.  Their  possession  was  as  wide 
as  their  knowledge  of  God  (1  Cor.  iii.  22).  They 
possessed  all  things,  because  they  drew  from  all 
things  their  true  message  and  virtue.  For  them  all 
things  worked  together  for  good  (Rom.  viii.  28)  ; 
and  so  in  the  very  truest  sense  all  things  were 
252 


WHAT  IS  PRECIOUS  IN  LIFE 

theirs.  Every  day  brought  its  message,  and  its 
discipline  of  sorrow  or  of  joy.  Their  faith  led  them 
to  learn  of  each  day  its  own  message,  and  to  accept 
its  discipline ;  they  were  content  to  leave  the  future ; 
they  saw  the  work  of  God  before  them  every  day  ; 
they  did  it,  regardless  of  anything  which  the  future 
might  bring.  They  gained  all  that  God  meant  them 
to  gain.  Was  not  the  best  of  heritages  theirs  ? 
Were  not  all  other  things  added  to  them  ? 

u  Take  therefore  no  thought  for  the  morrow ;  for 
the  morrow  shall  take  thought  for  the  things  of 
itself.  Sufficient  unto  the  day  is  the  evil  thereof " 
(verse  34). 

Care  adds  the  evil  of  to-morrow  to  the  discipline 
of  to-day.  Care  therefore  cries,  "  My  burden  is 
greater  than  I  can  bear."  Faith  meets  the  pain, 
loss,  or  difficulty  which  is  measured  out  to  it  to-day. 
Faith  has  no  to-morrow's  burden  ;  for  it  leaves  to- 
morrow in  the  hands  of  God.  It  therefore  learns  to 
say,  "I  can  do  all  things  through  Christ  which 
strengthened  me ;  for  nothing  has  been  too  heavy, 
neither  pain,  nor  loss,  nor  temptation.  All  lias  been 
meted  out  as  I  was  able  to  bear  it.  The  strength 
was  sufficient  for  the  day  ;  and  out  of  the  evil  I 
gained  the  good.     Thus  the  blessing  of  each  day  was 


*53 


PROSTITUTED   ZEALOTISM 


St.  Matt.  vii.  1-14 

Judge  not,  that  ye  be  not  judged. 

For  with  what  judgment  ye  judge,  ye  shall  be  judged  :  and  with 
what  measure  ye  mete,  it  shall  be  measured  to  you  again. 

And  why  beholdest  thou  the  mote  that  is  in  thy  brother's  eye,  but 
considerest  not  the  beam  that  is  in  thine  own  eye  ? 

Or  how  wilt  thou  say  to  thy  brother,  Let  me  pull  out  the  mote 
out  of  thine  eye  ;  and,  behold,  a  beam  is  in  thine  own  eye  ? 

Thou  hypocrite,  first  cast  out  the  beam  out  of  thine  own  eye  ; 
and  then  shalt  thou  see  clearly  to  cast  out  the  mote  out  of  thy 
brother's  eye. 

Give  not  that  which  is  holy  unto  the  dogs,  neither  cast  ye  your 
pearls  before  swine,  lest  they  trample  them  under  their  feet,  and 
turn  again  and  rend  you. 

Ask,  and  it  shall  be  given  you  ;  seek,  and  ye  shall  find  ;  knock, 
and  it  shall  be  opened  unto  you  : 

For  every  one  that  asketh  receiveth  ;  and  he  that  seeketh  findeth; 
and  to  him  that  knocketh  it  shall  be  opened. 

Or  what  man  is  there  of  you,  whom  if  his  son  ask  bread,  will  he 
give  him  a  stone  ? 

Or  if  he  ask  a  fish,  will  he  give  him  a  serpent  ? 

If  ye  then,  being  evil,  know  how  to  give  good  gifts  unto  your 
children,  how  much  more  shall  your  Father  which  is  in  heaven  give 
good  things  to  them  that  ask  him  ? 

Therefore  all  things  whatsoever  ye  would  that  men  should  do  to 
you,  do  ye  even  so  to  them  :  for  this  is  the  law  and  the  prophets. 

Enter  ye  in  at  the  strait  gate  :  for  wide  is  the  gate,  and  broad  is 
the  way,  that  leadeth  to  destruction,  and  many  there  be  which  go 
in  thereat : 

Because  strait  is  the  gate,  and  narrow  is  the  way,  which  leadeth 
unto  life,  and  few  there  be  that  find  it. 


PROSTITUTED  ZEALOTISM 

/^~\UR  LORD  has  warned  His  disciples  of  the 
^^  evil  of  unreal  religion.  He  has  shown  them 
that  when  men  cultivate  religion  for  the  sake  of 
human  applause,  or  for  personal  gain,  they  may  win 
reward,  but  they  demoralise  their  character:  they 
make  it  earthly :  and  with  lowered  nature  come 
lower  conceptions  of  God. 

But  this  is  not  the  only  snare  to  which  religion  is 
exposed.  Even  zeal  for  religion  has  its  snares.  A 
man  may  be  sincere  in  his  convictions,  and  yet  may 
violate  the  first  principles  of  religion.  Religio 
if  we  may  use  such  a  word,  takes  the  place  of  real 
religion  when  a  man  is  so  enamoured  of  hifl  own 
views,  and  so  zealous  in  their  defence,  that  lie 
ineligously,  />.,  wrongfully,  towards  those  who 
differ  from  him.  It  la  against  this  irreligious  re- 
ligiosity that  our  Lord  cautions  His  disciples  in 
this  closing  chapter.  The  thought  of  this  danger 
rupa  throughout  it,  though  other  subjects,  luch  as 

237  * 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

self-denial,    prayer,    and    stability   of  character   are 
treated  of. 

Our  Lord  commences  by  warning  against  false 
judgments,  which  is  the  earliest  form  of  this  over- 
bearing religious  zeal.  Fanaticism  cannot  differ 
from  a  person  without  condemning  him.  It  is  so 
impatient  and  wrathful  that  it  begins  to  malign  him. 
He  is  "  unsound ; "  he  holds  dangerous  views ;  his 
opinions  are  corrupt ;  "  his  character,  well,  what  can 
you  expect  from  one  who  advances  such  opinions  ?  " 
Judge  not  is  our  Lord's  command.  It  is  a  noble 
and  safe  law.  It  is  right  and  well  that  we  should 
maintain  with  all  zeal  and  earnestness  what  we 
believe  to  be  true.  We  have  a  right,  nay,  duty  lays 
it  upon  us,  to  contend  for  truth,  or  what  seems  to  us 
to  be  true ;  for  in  this  way  will  truth  be  advanced. 
But  to  judge  belongs  to  God  alone.  It  is  clear  that 
our  Lord  is  not  speaking  of  the  exercise  of  our 
judgment  in  matters  of  opinion.  He  welcomed  this, 
as  He  taught  men  to  seek  for  truth.  He  appealed 
to  men  to  use  their  judgment.  "Why  even  of 
yourselves  judge  ye  not  what  is  right  ?  n  (St.  Luke 
xii.  57).  Neither  does  our  Lord  forbid  the  exercise 
of  legal  judgment.  He  Himself  respected  it,  and 
declared  that  all  responsible  office  came  from  God 
(John  xix.  u).  These  judgments,  which  are  the 
due  exercise  of  our  natural  powers,  Christ  did  not 
258 


PROSTITUTED  ZEALOT  ISM 

condemn.  The  judgment  which  He  forbade  was 
the  evil  judgment  of  the  passion  and  the  prejudice 
which  judged  the  man,  which  pretended  to  know  all 
about  him,  and  to  see  the  moral  turpitude  which 
lurked  behind  mistaken  opinions.  It  is  of  the  un- 
charitable judgment  and  of  the  fanatical  condemna- 
tion of  men  which  our  Lord  is  thinking  when  He 
says  "Judge  not." 

This  habit  of  judging  and  condemning  people 
introduces  an  evil  custom  into  society.  Society  is 
fundamentally  the  great  brotherhood  of  life,  bound 
by  the  ties  of  companionship  in  frailty,  joy,  sorrow, 
and  experience.  The  pleasure  and  the  profit  of 
social  life  depend  upon  the  sweetness  and  whole- 
someness  of  its  customs.  If  differences  of  opinion 
can  be  maintained  with  frank  intelligence  and  with 
charitable  spirit,  then  the  intercourse  of  society  will 
be  happy  and  advantageous.  But  where  a  sour  sus- 
piciousness broods  over  every  intellectual  divergence 
the  joy  of  social  life  is  clouded.  The  harsh  judg- 
ment and  the  eager  condemnation  provoke  retalia- 
tion. The  bigot  judges  the  fanatic,  and  the  fanatic 
condemns  the  bigot.  A  vicious  system  of  retaliatory 
judgments  is  kept  up.  Varieties  of  mind,  which 
might  have  brought  much  mutual  profit,  are  nude 
reasons  for  fear  and  alienation.  Doubt  and  estrange- 
ment lead  to  hostility.  Human  society,  which  God 
*39 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

intended  to  be  a  brotherhood  of  happy  helpfulness, 
degenerates  into  an  assemblage  of  men  and  women 
filled  with  unreasoning  prejudice  and  ill-concealed 
malice.  Judge  not,  says  Christ,  and  He  adds,  that 
ye  be  not  judged ;  condemn  not  that  ye  be  not  con- 
demned ;  for  the  law  of  retribution  is  written  large 
over  the  world.  He  that  takes  the  sword  perishes 
with  the  sword ;  and  he  that  makes  of  his  tongue  a 
sharp  sword  must  be  slain  in  like  manner. 

There  is  a  better  occupation  for  men  than  that  of 
judging  and  condemning  one  another.  Better  far  it 
is  to  sit  in  judgment  on  ourselves.  It  is  a  wiser  and 
more  profitable  thing  to  look  to  our  own  defects  and 
to  remedy  these  ;  for,  strange  and  even  paradoxical  as 
it  may  seem,  the  purer  and  higher  the  character,  the 
less  harsh  is  our  judgment  of  others,  and  the  more 
capable  do  we  become  of  taking  our  part  in  promot- 
ing their  improvement.  This  thought  our  Lord 
expresses  by  a  brief  parabolic  saying  :  "  Why  be- 
holdest  thou  the  mote  that  is  in  thy  brother's  eye, 
but  perceivest  not  the  beam  that  is  in  thine  own  eye  ? 
Either  how  canst  thou  say  to  thy  brother,  Let  me 
pull  out  the  mote  that  is  in  thine  eye,  while  thou  thy- 
self beholdest  not  the  beam  that  is  in  thine  own  eye  ? 
Thou  hypocrite  ;  cast  out  first  the  beam  that  is  in 
thine  own  eye,  and  then  shalt  thou  see  clearly  to 
pluck  out  the  mote  that  is  in  thy  brother's  eye." 
260 


PROSTITUTED  ZEALOTISM 

The  contrast  between  the  mote  and  the  beam  is 
the  contrast  between  the  small  and  the  large.  The 
contrast  is  perhaps  better  expressed  by  the  splinter 
and  the  beam — the  small  fragment  of  wood  and  the 
large.  It  is  an  absurd  thing  for  a  man  whose  sight 
is  impaired  by  a  huge  piece  of  wood  to  undertake 
the  delicate  operation  of  removing  a  tiny  splinter 
which  is  troubling  his  brother's  eye.  But  the  climax 
of  the  absurdity  is  the  idea  of  such  a  man  thinking 
that  he  can  do  it.  It  is  ludicrous  to  think  of  such  a 
man  being  so  entirely  ignorant  of  his  own  defect,  as 
to  volunteer,  with  an  air  of  superiority,  to  do  the 
thing  which  requires  the  greatest  steadiness  of  hand 
and  clearness  of  vision  to  accomplish.  How  could 
such  a  one  attempt  such  a  task  without  injuring  the 
eye  which  he  pretends  to  treat?  It  is  just  this 
ignorant  and  reckless  spirit  which  waits  upon  narrow 
fanaticism.  Ill-regulated  zeal  judges  without  reflec- 
tion and  acts  without  charity.  It  is  so  fierce  that  it 
loses  tenderness  and  consideration.  It  sees  only  the 
evil  or  error  against  which  it  is  vehement.  It  forgets 
or  disregards  the  man  and  his  welfare.  It  ends  by 
blinding  him  whose  sight  it  affects  to  restore.  Men 
possessed  by  such  a  spirit  harm  rather  than  help. 
They  arc  <>f  the  same  spirit  as  those  of  whom  Christ 
spoke  later  :  they  would  "  compass  sea  and  land  to 
make  one  pn  nd  they  make  him  tenfold  more 

a6i 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

the  child  of  hell  than  themselves."  They  impair  his 
already  feeble  sight ;  they  imbue  him  with  their  own 
ferocious  fanaticism ;  they  make  him  a  fierce,  blind, 
blundering,  and  malignant  partisan.  Such  is  the 
ruin  they  achieve.  And  how  could  it  be  otherwise, 
since  they  who  put  their  hands  to  this  work  are  so 
unfit  for  it  ?  The  beam  is  in  their  own  eye.  Their 
own  power  of  clear  vision  has  been  already  injured. 
That  priceless  gift  of  fair  and  single-minded  judgment 
has  been  perverted.  The  eye  which  when  it  is 
single  fills  the  whole  body  with  light,  has  been  ruined 
by  coarse  passion  and  fierce  pretence  of  orthodoxy. 

We  thus  approach  verse  7,  a  verse  which  we  shall 
most  surely  misunderstand  unless  we  keep  carefully 
in  mind  the  drift  of  our  Lord's  argument.  He  is 
showing  how  the  impartiality  and  charity  of  judgment 
can  be  destroyed  when  men  judge  by  passion  and 
prejudice.  These  hot  animosities  make  havoc  of 
the  powers  of  judgment.  Then  He  says  :  "  Give  not 
that  which  is  holy  to  the  dogs,  neither  cast  ye  your 
pearls  before  swine,  lest  they  turn  again  and  rend 
you."  The  usual  meaning  assigned  to  these  words 
makes  them  a  warning  against  putting  holy  teaching 
before  those  who  are  too  corrupt  or  too  degraded  to 
understand  it.  It  then  reads  like  a  caution  to  the 
disciples  not  to  speak  of  the  Gospel  or  heavenly 
things  before  those  who  are  unfit  to  appreciate  them. 
262 


PROSTITUTED  ZEALOTISM 

But  this  sense  makes  the  verse  abrupt  and  irrelevant. 
It  comes  as  a  sudden  interruption  of  the  flow  of 
Christ's  teaching.  It  further  introduces  a  sentiment 
which  is  little  in  harmony  with  our  Lord's  spirit  and 
custom.  He  spoke  freely  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven, 
and  He  bade  His  disciples  preach  to  every  creature. 
None  were  too  low  or  too  degraded  for  the  reach  of 
heaven.  The  holy  helps  of  God  were  given  freely, 
as  the  love  of  God  was  boundless.  Christ  would  not 
enjoin  on  any  of  His  followers  to  sow  the  good  seed 
with  niggard  or  grudging  hand. 

The  true  meaning  of  the  verse  becomes  clear  when 
we  allow  our  thoughts  to  move  on  with  the  flow  of 
Christ's  teaching.  He  gives  warning,  as  we  have 
seen,  against  the  fierce  and  injurious  influence  of 
passion.  This,  like  a  wild  creature,  may  seize  and 
mangle  the  powers  of  reason  and  judgment.  Passion 
may  pervert  judgment. 

In  other  words,  our  Lord  reminds  us  that  oui 
judgment  is  liable  to  misdirection  and  misuse.  To 
enforce  this  He  uses  three  illustrations.  The  eye 
may  be  spoilt  by  the  beam  ;  that  which  is  holy  may 
be  destroyed  by  the  dogs;  and  the  pearl  may  be 
trampled  under  foot  by  the  swine.  That  which  the 
beam  is  to  the  eye,  the  dogs  are  to  the  h<>ly  thing*, 
and  the  swine  are  to  the  pearl.  The  gross  elements 
destroy  the  finer  ;  the  beam  ruins  the  power  of  sight. 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

as  the  dog  and  the  swine  destroy  what  is  precious  and 
holy.  Now  the  precious  and  holy  thing  is  the  power 
of  just  and  right  judgment.  To  be  able  to  use  our 
judgment  with  well-balanced  impartiality  undisturbed 
by  passion  is  to  exercise  one  of  the  highest  prerogatives 
of  man  ;  but  this  high  prerogative  is  open  to  danger. 
There  are  evils  which  may  assail  it ;  the  sacred 
power  may  be  left  at  the  mercy  of  what  is  lower  and 
baser.  Fierce  prejudice  may  destroy  the  sanctity  of 
reason,  and  wild  passion  may  disturb  our  reverence 
in  the  use  of  so  priceless  a  thing.  Prejudice,  envy, 
indolence — these  and  countless  more  are  the  foes  of 
reasonable  and  righteous  judgment.  When,  then,  a 
man  allows  his  judgment  to  be  at  the  mercy  of  his 
passion,  he  throws  the  holy  thing  to  the  dogs,  he 
leaves  the  precious  pearl  at  the  mercy  of  the  swine. 
It  is  one  of  the  truisms  of  philosophy  that  there 
is  nothing  so  difficult  to  secure  as  the  dry  light  of 
reason.  The  light  is  generally  dimmed  by  the  mists 
of  passion,  prejudice,  or  indolence.  Bacon  dis- 
courses largely  and  widely  of  the  "  idols "  which 
hindered  the  justice  and  the  impartiality  of  man's 
reason.  "  The  reflection  from  glasses  so  usually 
resembled  to  the  imagery  of  the  mind,  every  man 
knoweth  to  receive  error  and  variety  both  in  colour, 
magnitude  and  shape,  according  to  the  quality  of  the 
glass.  But  yet  no  use  hath  been  made  of  these  and 
264 


PROSTITUTED  ZEALOTISM 

many  the  like  observations  to  move  men  to  search 
out,  and  upon  search  to  give  true  cautions  of  the 
native  and  inherent  errors  in  the  mind  of  man, 
which  have  coloured  and  corrupted  all  his  notions  and 
impressions."  ("  Of  the  Interpretation  of  Nature.") 
In  our  own  day  Herbert  Spencer  has  pointed  out 
that  all  classes  of  men  are  liable  to  some  bias,  and 
that  this  bias  interferes  with  the  sobriety  and  safety* 
of  their  judgment.  In  the  language  of  the  prophet, 
judgment  goes  lame,  and  is  turned  out  of  the  way. 
What  the  philosophers  thus  discoursed  about,  the 
experience  of  men  will  ratify.  We  know  well  that 
we  do  not  always  fully  appreciate  the  good  done  by 
people  with  whom  we  have  no  political  or  religious 
sympathy.  The  keen  eye  of  prejudice  sees  evil 
in  the  good ;  envy  and  prejudice,  like  evil  dogs,  bite 
and  maim  the  impartiality  of  our  minds.  We  applaud 
charity  when  it  is  done  by  our  own  party  ;  we  deride 
or  distrust  it  when  it  comes  from  the  opposite  camp. 
What  is  this  but  allowing  our  judgment  to  be  at 
the  mercy  of  our  dislike  ?  Thus  does  some  lower 
ion  trample  down  the  priceless  gift  of  reason. 
It  is  sad  that  after  this  fashion  our  intellectual 
judgment  should  be  warped  by  our  passions,  but 
it  is  worse  when  we  find  that  our  moral  judgments 
may  suffer  in  the  same  way.  We  sometimes  think 
that  though  our  intellects  may  be  wrong,  our  con- 

26$ 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

sciences  must  be  right ;  but  it  is  unfortunately  only 
too  true  that  the  conscience,  like  the  mind,  may  be 
made  the  victim  of  prejudice.  The  late  Professor 
Mozley  drew  the  picture  of  the  Pharisaic  conscience, 
as  a  conscience  "  pacified,  domesticated,  brought 
into  harness — a  tame  conscience,  converted  into  a 
manageable  and  applauding  companion,  vulgarised, 
humiliated  and  chained."  And  it  was  this  dangerous 
and  degraded  condition  that  our  Lord  had  in  mind 
when  He  declared  that  the  time  would  come  when 
men's  consciences  would  applaud  the  breaking  of 
the  moral  law.  "  The  time  cometh  that  whosoever 
killeth  you  will  think  that  he  doeth  God  service  " 
(St.  John  xvi.  2).  And  it  is  not  difficult  to  see  how 
this  state  of  feeling  arises.  There  is  some  evil 
custom  or  wrong  belief  which  we  are  anxious  to 
abolish.  Our  consciences  are  oppressed  because 
such  evil  is  tolerated ;  it  is  in  our  eyes  a  thing 
hateful  to  God  and  injurious  to  man.  We  reason 
that  it  cannot  be  wrong  to  get  rid  of  evil.  We 
therefore  throw  the  whole  of  our  energy  and  our 
enthusiasm  into  the  work  of  annihilation  ;  we  forget 
everything  but  the  desolating  evil  which  we  would 
fain  attack.  We  forget  to  do  justly  by  the  men  who 
are  mixed  up  in  the  matter.  For  them  we  have  no 
charity.  In  our  eagerness  to  get  rid  of  the  accursed 
thing  we  act  unrighteously  towards  our  fellow-men. 
266 


PROSTITUTED  ZEALOTISM 

We  forget  that  men  may  be  entangled   in   beliefs 

and   customs   and   yet   be   comparatively  free  from 

moral  blame.     They  have  grown  up   in  a  different 

moral  and  religious  atmosphere ;  they  have  not  had 

perhaps   the   same   advantages    as   ourselves.     But 

our  eagerness  is  blind  to  all  these  facts,  and  even 

injustice  itself  seems  to  be  consecrated  by  our  good 

intentions.     The   history   of   the   world   and,    alasl 

of  the  Church  also,  will  afford  us  many  examples. 

"  Urged  by  ambition,  who  with  subtlest  skill 

Changes  her  means,  the  Enthusiast  as  a  dupe 
Shall  soar,  and  as  a  hypocrite  can  stoop. 
And  turn  the  instruments  of  good  to  ill." 

Saintly  men  have  been   blinded  by  their  fanatical 

zeal,   and    in    their  zeal    to   vindicate    the    honour 

of  Christ  have  inflicted  injustice  in  His  name.     Their 

deeds,  as  Browning  said, 

•'spit  at  their  creed, 
Who  maintain  Him  in  word,  but  defy  Him  in  deed." 

When  these  things  take  place,  that  holy  thing, 
the  judgment,  has  been  at  the  mercy  of  unholy 
prejudices  and  tumultuous  passions.  Wc  can  under- 
stand now,  if  wc  reflect,  the  significance  of  the 
words  of  Christ,  "  Neither  cast  ye  your  pearls  before 
swine,  lest  they  turn  again  and  rend  you."  Hie  men 
who,  urged  by  furious  fanaticism,  have  stirred  up  per- 
secution against  ofhen  are  ever  the  victims  of  their 
*7 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

own  frenzy.  They  suffer  at  the  teeth  of  the  wild 
passions  they  have  let  loose.  Those  who  have  been 
persecuted  are  not  the  greatest  sufferers ;  their 
goods  were  confiscated,  their  bodies  were  given  to 
the  sword  or  to  the  flame ;  but  their  persecutors 
suffered  a  loss  greater  than  the  loss  of  property  and 
life,  for  the  passions  aroused  in  such  ill  work  made 
havoc  of  the  consciences  and  characters  of  those 
who  indulged  them.  No  man  allows  his  zeal  to 
lead  him  astray  from  the  laws  of  God  without 
suffering  moral  deterioration.  Once  the  dogs  of 
passion  get  loose  they  tear  away  the  protections  of 
our  moral  life ;  we  lose  by  degrees  our  powers  of 
fairness,  impartiality,  and  charity.  The  single- 
mindedness  of  our  hearts  forsakes  us.  We  wander 
further  and  further  from  the  mind  of  Christ,  for  His 
ministry  was  not  to  destroy  but  to  save.  He  knew 
the  dangers  into  which  even  zeal  might  lead  men ; 
and  He  cautioned  His  disciples  against  embarking 
on  work  of  destruction.  The  tares  might  be  in  the 
field,  but  they  were  to  be  allowed  to  grow  together 
till  the  harvest.  In  the  time  of  harvest,  He  said 
that  the  Lord  would  say  to  the  angels,  "  Gather 
together  the  tares  in  bundles  to  burn  them."  Our 
dim  eyes  and  rough  hands  might  blunder  in  such 
work.  It  needs  an  angel  eye  to  discern  between 
the  evil  and  the  good,  and  it  needs  the  Christ-like 
268 


PROSTITUTED  ZEALOTISM 

heart  to  perceive  that  the  smoking  flax  may  be 
kindled  into  the  bright  flame,  and  that  the  broken 
reed  may  be  repaired  and  restored  to  form  and  use, 
and  so  become  an  instrument  of  heaven's  music 
(Matt.  xii.  20). 

Our  Lord  thus  teaches  the  principle  of  true  judg- 
ment. Abstain  from  judging  men,  judge  rather 
yourself.  There  may  be  a  beam  which  spoils  our 
own  vision ;  it  needs  a  very  clear  eye  and  a  very 
delicate  hand  to  cast  the  mote  out  of  our  brother's 
eye.  When  we  view  the  evil  that  is  in  our  brother 
we  may  be  led  away  by  an  excess  of  zeal.  Some 
earthly  feeling,  some  unheavenly  passion,  may  easily 
mingle  with  our  judgment.  The  pearl  of  justice  and 
charity  may  be  flung  beneath  the  feet  of  our  lowest 
passions.  Our  brother  may  suffer  at  our  hands,  but 
we  shall  suffer  that  worst  injury — moral  deteriora- 
tion. Christ  teaches  us  that  to  be  religious  in  the 
higher  and  better  sense  is  no  easy  thing.  Zeal  for 
religion  may  be  an  irreligious  thing,  and  entluisiam 
for  good  not  always  good  enthusiasm.  We  may  be 
tempted  to  do  evil  that  good  may  come.  II 
last  danger,  perhapg  the  wont,  of  men  and  Churches. 
When  they  wake  from  indifiereoo 
zeal    1  ai  ii<  1   ihei  mmaiid*  of  God. 

They  become  incapable  of  seeing  that  it  can  never 

be  right,  in  Seeking  to  du  right, 
169 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

To  do  this  is  not  merely  to  do  a  moral  wrong.  It  is 
an  act  of  the  supremest  disbelief;  for  if  the  moral 
laws  be  indeed  God's  laws,  then  to  think  that  good 
may  be  promoted  by  the  violation  of  those  laws  is  to 
say  that  God  has  given  us  laws  which  in  our  judg- 
ment will  not  work.  We  need,  as  T.  T.  Lynch  said, 
"a  conscience  to  keep  our  conscience."  We  need 
to  remember  that  though  wrong  can  never  be  rightly 
done,  right  may  be  done  wrongly.  Thus  Christ 
puts  before  us  the  snares  which  wait  upon  religious 
profession. 

Does  He  point  out  any  protection  against  these 
snares  ?  He  does ;  His  next  words  supply  them. 
"  Ask,  and  it  shall  be  given  you ;  seek,  and  ye  shall 
find ;  knock,  and  it  shall  be  opened  unto  you M 
(verse  7).  We  can  trace  the  current  of  thought. 
Christ  showed  the  difficulties  which  beset  the  path 
of  religious  zeal;  and  He  reminded  His  disciples 
that  all  through  their  lives,  even  in  the  hours  when 
their  enthusiasm  was  greatest,  they  would  need  the 
quiet  and  sanctifying  influence  of  prayer.  The 
more  a  man  grows  in  devotion,  the  more,  perhaps, 
he  needs  to  watch  and  pray.  For  it  is  hard  to 
believe  that  zeal  for  good  can  lead  us  into  evil,  and 
that  our  enthusiasm  for  right  may  not  be  a  righteous 
enthusiasm.  It  is  possible,  however,  to  be  zealous 
in  promoting  God's  kingdom  without  remembering 
270 


PROSTITUTED  ZEALOT  ISM 

His  righteousness.  But  the  moment  we  enter  the 
shrine  of  prayer  we  are  surrounded  by  another 
atmosphere.  Then  we  realise  our  weakness.  We 
express  our  needs.  We  are  conscious  that  our  best 
things  need  purification.  Our  greatest  strength  is 
felt  to  be  but  weakness.  Our  ideas  rise ;  our  reli- 
gious life  is  more  than  the  pursuit  of  religious 
things;  it  is  a  self-watchful,  wholesome,  robust 
religious  spirit  working  in  all  things ;  it  is  a  life 
lived  in  God.  In  seeking  the  kingdom  of  God  it 
seeks  His  righteousness. 

And  here,  as  always,  our  Lord  draws  the  minds 
of  His  disciples  back  to  the  thought  of  the  Fatl 
love.  No  needy,  no  blinded  soul  can  seek  His  face 
in  vain.  Every  one  that  asketh  receiveth,  and  he 
that  seeketh  findeth  ;  and  to  him  that  knocketh  it 
shall  be  opened  (verse  8).  And  the  reason  of  this 
large  and  ready  response  is  to  be  found  in  the 
lovingness  of  the  Father. 

At  this  point  in  His  sermon  Christ  argues  in 
that  fashion  which  in  modern  days  would  be  called 
anthropomorphic.  He  argues  from  what  man  is  to 
what  God  must  be.  "What  man  is  time  of  you 
who,  if  his  son  shall  a>k  him  for  a  loaf,  will  he  give 
him  a  stone  ?  or  if  he  shall  ask  for  a  fish,  would  he 
give  him  a  serpent  f  Dfl  rvil.  know 

how  to  give  good  gifts  unto  your  children,  how  much 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

more  shall  your  Father  which   is   in   heaven   give 
good  things  to  them  that  ask  Him  ?  "  (verses  9-1 1). 

We  are  justified  then,  according  to  our  Lord,  in 
looking  into  the  depths  of  our  own  heart  to  find  the 
outlines  of  the  divine  heart.  The  love,  the  in- 
stinctive and  natural  love  of  the  father  to  the  child, 
is  a  picture  of  the  greater  love  of  the  greater  Father. 
Men  are  fathers  because  God  was  first  a  father ; 
their  fatherhood  is  but  the  expression  and  the  in- 
terpretation of  His;  God's  message  comes  to  us 
through  the  revelations  of  the  natural  ties  of  life. 
The  God  whom  Christ  reveals  is  not  one  that  sits 
afar  off,  heedless  of  the  pain,  the  misery,  and  the 
despair  of  His  creatures,  deaf  to  their  cries  and 
disdainful  of  their  distress,  but  He  is  the  Father 
who  acknowledges  the  right  of  their  claim  to  His 
care  and  His  love.  As  their  needs  rise  His  benevo- 
lence responds.  He  meets  their  higher  as  well  as 
their  lower  needs.  If  the  earthly  father  is  prompt  to 
feed  his  hungry  child,  how  much  more  will  not  the 
heavenly  Father  feed  those  who  are  hungering  for 
Him  and  thirsting  for  His  righteousness  ? 

Christ's  next  words  show  that  He  has  not  for- 
gotten the  snares  of  religious  zeal  of  which  we  have 
spoken.  He  teaches  men  that  in  their  zeal  they 
should  not  forget  the  charitable  habit  expressed 
by  the  saying,  M  Put  yourself  in  his  place."  It  is  by 
272 


PROSTITUTED  ZEALOTISM 

this  exchange  of  places  that  love  understands  many 
things.  And  therefore  our  Lord  says  :  u  All  things,. 
whatsoever  ye  would  that  men  should  do  unto  you, 
even  so  do  ye  also  unto  them,  for  this  is  the  law  and 
the  prophets  "  (verse  1 3). 

The  difficulty  with  which  Christ  has  been  dealing 
is  the  difficulty  of  maintaining  our  religious  en- 
thusiasm alongside  of  our  reverent  allegiance  to 
God's  law.  It  is  the  difficulty  of  playing  the  game 
of  life  rightly.  The  petulant  child  grows  angry  with 
his  toys,  often  because  he  does  not  understand  or 
lacks  the  patience  to  obey  some  natural  law ;  and 
even  the  religious  man  grows  impatient  with  life 
because  he  lacks  the  patience  to  live  and  act  under 
the  moral  laws  of  God.  He  would  like  to  sweep 
the  enemies  of  God  from  the  earth.  Christ  draws 
him  back  from  these  passionate  feelings,  first  by 
pressing  on  him  the  thought  of  what  God  is,  and 
then  by  the  thought  of  what  man  is.  If  you  would 
but  think  of  God,  He  seems  to  say,  the  power  of 
wild  passion  and  furious  impatience  would  pass 
away.  If  you  would  think  of  man,  you  would  sec 
that  he  is  entitled  to  the  same  charity  which  you 
claim  for  yourself.  If  God  is  patient  with  < 
should  not  we  be?  If  we  look  for  kindly  treatment 
and  kindly  judgment  at  our  brother's  hands,  ought 
we  not  to  give  him  the  same?  If  we  are  alive 
27J  » 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

to  God's  holiness  we  shall  rest  upon  His  laws 
of  righteousness  and  love  ;  and,  instead  of  seeking 
to  alter  or  disregard  them,  we  shall  rather  ask  from 
Him  strength  to  keep  us  loyal  to  them.  It  is  not 
enough  to  labour  to  promote  God's  glory  ;  we  must 
promote  it  in  God's  way. 

The  temptation  which  constantly  recurs  in  life  is 
to  make  religion  easy.  But  the  path  of  religion 
cannot  be  other  than  narrow.  For  he  who  would 
follow  God  must  not  only  love  Him  with  all  his 
heart,  but  with  all  his  soul  and  mind  also.  He  must 
love  Him,  that  is  to  say,  with  the  complete  appre- 
hension of  a  spirit  which  is  earnest  to  be  like  Him 
in  all  things  ;  and  we  must  therefore  reverence  that 
character  of  God  which  is  expressed  in  the  moral 
law.  We  must  keep  this  law  even  when  it  seems 
to  put  a  check  upon  our  religious  zeal.  But  men, 
even  earnest  men,  do  not  always  realise  the  wide 
and  deep  application  of  the  divine  laws.  They  too 
often,  in  one  way  or  another,  seek  to  make  the  path 
of  religion  easier  than  God  has  made  it.  They  open 
the  door  to  the  worldly  spirit.  And  this  may  be 
done  either  by  the  pursuit  of  worldly  aims  or  by 
reliance  on  unrighteous  and  carnal  means  of  pro- 
moting what  are  called  religious  principles.  Are 
we  surprised,  then,  that  Christ's  next  caution  should 
be  against  the  broad  way  and  the  wide  gate? 
274 


PROSTITUTED  ZEALOTISM 

"  Enter  ye  in  by  the  narrow  gate,  for  wide  is  the 
gate  and  broad  is  the  way  that  leadeth  to  destruction, 
and  many  be  they  that  enter  in  thereby.  For 
narrow  is  the  gate  and  straitened  is  the  way  that 
leadeth  unto  life,  and  few  be  they  that  find  it." 

Narrow  indeed  is  the  gate,  because  he  who  enters 
must  leave  himself  behind ;  straitened  is  the  way, 
for  he  who  seeks  it  must  walk  by  faith  in  the  divine 
laws,  and  must  part  with  his  weakness,  his  im- 
patience,:  his  prejudice.  "  Few,"  says  Christ,  M  be 
they  that  find  it."  And  His  words  are  echoed  by 
the  reiterated  complaint  made,  not  in  our  own  day, 
but  in  all  generations  of  Christendom.  The  Chris- 
tians are  many,  but  where  is  the  Christianity  ? 
Many  bear  the  name  of  Christ,  but  do  not  see  that 
the  religion  of  Christ  first  demands  the  Christ-like 
character.  And  the  Christ-like  character  is  the 
character  which  does  good  and  seeks  no  fame ; 
which  does  kindness  for  love's  sake ;  which  i>  kind 
to  the  unthankful  and  to  the  unholy  ;  which  blesses 
and  helps  the  unworthy ;  which  loves  all  men, 
seeing  that  all  men  arc  the  children  of  God;  and 
which,  therefore,  cannot  think  that  even  in  religion's 
name  it  can  be  good  to  act  unkindly  or  to  deal 
unrighteously  by  any  one. 

To  win  such  a  character  as  this  all  of  self  must  be 
left  behind.     Not  only  our  gains  and  possessions 
273 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

must  we  forsake,  but  even  ourselves,  as  St.  Augustine 
said.  We  must  give  up  our  own  will  and  our  own 
way.  Christ  must  be  followed  in  the  spirit  of 
Christ.  We  must  be  His  only  and  His  wholly. 
It  is  thus  through  Him  that  we  enter  into  His 
kingdom.  He  is  the  door,  and  He  is  the  way. 
And  though  this  way  is  open  to  all,  yet  few  love 
Him  enough  to  give  up  all  for  His  sake,  and  few 
believe  in  Him  enough  to  trust  themselves  wholly 
in  His  hands  and  to  shape  their  lives  wholly  by  the 
laws  of  His  spirit. 


276 


THE   TESTS  OF  LIFE 


St.  Matt.  vii.  15-end 

Beware  of  false  prophets,  which  come  to  you  in  sheep's  clothing, 
but  inwardly  they  are  ravening  wolves. 

Ye  shall  know  them  by  their  fruits.  Do  men  gather  grapes  of 
thorns,  or  figs  of  thistles  ? 

Even  so  every  good  tree  bringeth  forth  good  fruit  ;  but  a  corrupt 
tree  bringeth  forth  evil  fruit. 

A  good  tree  cannot  bring  forth  evil  fruit,  neither  can  a  corrupt 
tree  bring  forth  good  fruit. 

Every  tree  that  bringeth  not  forth  good  fruit  is  hewn  down,  and 
cast  into  the  fire. 

Wherefore  by  their  fruits  ye  shall  know  them. 

Not  every  one  that  saith  unto  me,  Lord,  Lord,  shall  enter  into 
he  kingdom  of  heaven  ;  but  he  that  doeth  the  will  of  my  Father 
which  is  in  heaven. 

Many  will  say  to  me  in  that  day,  Lord,  Lord,  have  we  not 
prophesied  in  thy  name?  and  in  thy  name  have  cast  out  devils  ?  and 
n  thy  name  done  many  wonderful  works? 

And  then  will  I  profess  unto  them,  I  never  knew  you  :  depart 
from  me,  ye  that  work  iniquity. 

Therefore  whosoever  heareth  these  sayings  of  mine,  and  doeth 
them,  I  will  liken  him  unto  a  wise  man,  which  built  his  house  upon 
a  rock : 

And  the  rain  descended,  and  the  floods  came,  and  the  winds  blew, 
and  beat  upon  that  house  ;  and  it  fell  not  :  for  it  was  founded  upon 
a  rock. 

And  every  one  that  heareth  these  sayings  of  mine,  and  doeth  them 
not,  shall  be  likened  unto  a  foolish  man,  which  built  his  house  upon 
the  sand  : 

And  the  rain  descended,  and  the  floods  came,  and  the  winds 
blew,  and  beat  upon  that  house  ;  and  it  fell :  and  great  was  the  fall 
of  it. 


THE  TESTS  OF  LIFE 

T  TERY  fitly  does  the  warning  against  false  pro- 
*  phets  follow  the  picture  of  the  strait  gate  and 
the  narrow  way ;  for  the  false  prophets  have  been 
busy  always  in  broadening  that  which  God  made 
strait  and  in  narrowing  that  which  He  made  wide. 
For  our  Lord  declared  that  heaven  was  near  and 
accessible  and  that  in  it  there  was  room  enough  for 
all ;  but  the  heaven  of  the  false  prophets  is  a  narrow 
and  limited  place.  And  yet  again  the  false  prophets 
break  down  the  sideposts  of  the  gateway  of  heaven 
and  make  wide  that  which  Christ  made  narrow. 
The  false  prophets  make  much  of  words,  and  little  of 
deeds,  reversing  Christ's  order;  for  whereas  our 
Lord  said,  "By  their  fruits  ye  shall  know  thorn, M  the 
false  prophets  say,  M  By  their  opinions  yc  shall  know 
them."  Our  Lord  said,  "No  man  that  can  do  a 
miracle  in  my  name  can  lightly  speak  evil  of  me.w 
But  the  mistaken  and  officious  disciple  forbids  the 
work  of  such  a  man,  M  because  he  followeth  not  us." 
279 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

"To  follow  us"  is  the  test  of  faith  which  the  foolish 
and  the  false  prophets  set  up ;  to  follow  Christ  is  the 
Master's  test.  To  say  our  shibboleth  is  the  all- 
important  matter  with  the  false  prophet.  To  bear  a 
Christ-like  character,  to  live  a  Christ-like  life,  full  of 
Christ-like  deeds,  is  all  in  Christ's  eyes. 

And,  indeed,  if  we  will  reflect,  this  last  makes  the 
gate  strait  indeed  to  those  who  are  entering  in.  He 
who  will  enter  in  by  the  door  into  life  must  needs 
find  the  gate  a  strait  one,  seeing  that  Christ  is  the 
door.  To  enter  in  is  to  be  one  with  Christ  in  dispo- 
sition, desire,  and  deed.  He  cannot  take  much  with 
him  who  enters  in  at  that  door.  There  are  many 
who  seek  to  enter  in,  and  who  cannot,  because  they 
bring  so  many  bundles  with  them.  "  Lord,"  they 
say,  "let  me  in,  but  let  me  bring  my  ambition  with 
me.  It  is  such  a  little  one,  and  there  is  no  harm  in 
it.  Thou  wilt  not  gainsay  it."  But  the  Lord  will 
have  no  burdens  brought  in.  All  must  be  left  out- 
side. Heaven  is  worth  the  whole  of  a  man's  love  ; 
and  Christ  will  have  the  whole  of  our  hearts.  All 
competing  affections  must  be  left  behind.  Whosoever 
cometh  must  forsake  all  that  he  hath.  His  earthly 
wealth  must  be  as  nothing  to  him.  The  things 
which  he  once  held  in  high  esteem  must  have  no 
more  charm  for  him.  He  must  view  them  as  dross, 
that  he  may  win  Christ  (Phil.  iii.  8,  9). 
280 


THE  TESTS  OF  LIFE 

But  is  not  this  harsh  ?  Is  it  not  hard  that  Christ 
should  so  make  narrow  the  gate  ?  Nay,  it  is  not  so, 
if  we  will  but  think.  For  how  could  it  be  otherwise  ? 
There  is  no  high  and  noble  work  which  a  man  may 
do  in  the  world  which  does  not,  in  its  own  fashion, 
make  the  same  demand  upon  a  man.  Art  asks  from 
her  worshippers  a  whole  heart,  and  an  undivided 
devotion.  If  a  man  have  but  an  ounce  of  covetous- 
ness  in  him,  and  deflects  his  brush  into  tawdriness 
of  treatment  to  win  gold  from  the  vulgar  taste  of  the 
world,  art  will  scorn  such  a  man,  and  sooner  or  later 
will  steal  the  magic  from  his  brush.  No  man  is 
lowered  in  his  powers,  said  Dr.  Johnson,  unless  he 
is  first  lowered  in  his  tastes.  When  Charles  Edward 
comes  into  Scotland  with  a  mistress,  he  alienates  the 
hearts  of  his  followers.  The  leader  of  a  cause  must 
be  whole-hearted  in  the  cause.  He  may  not  bring 
the  offering  of  a  distracted  attention  to  it.  The 
divided  heart  is  the  secret  of  many  a  failure. 

No  !  it  is  not  a  harsh  thing  which  our  Lord  says. 
He  only  affirms  a  principle  which,  like  most  prin- 
ciples, is  stern  because  it  la  just  simple  fact.  If 
heaven  were  a  place  which  could  be  reached  by  a 
mere  change  from  one  locality  to  another,  then  such 
conditions  might  seem  harsh.  If  it  were  a  matter  of 
geography,  there  would  seem  but  little  reason  for 
laying  down  moral  conditions.  But  seeing  that 
ft] 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

heaven  is  really  found  and  only  found  by  the 
heavenly  character,  the  declaration  that  earthly  dis- 
positions exclude  men  from  it  is  just,  natural,  and 
obvious. 

But  this  is  just  what  the  false  prophet  cannot,  see, 
or  will  not.  The  false  prophet  is  the  teacher  who 
loses  the  ethical  sense  of  things.  To  him  the  heaven 
is  geographical,  and  the  conditions  of  admission  and 
exclusion  are  verbal.  To  him  a  man  is  not  self- 
excluded  by  worldliness  of  disposition  :  he  is  ad- 
mitted or  shut  out  by  the  correctness  or  incorrectness 
of  his  shibboleth.  The  Churches  have  made  new 
gates  in  the  walls  of  Jerusalem,  but  it  is  doubtful 
whether  any  of  them  lead  into  the  city.  u  The  gates 
of  Zion,"  said  Origen,  "may  be  understood  as  the 
opposite  to  the  gates  of  death  :  therefore  as  one  gate 
of  death  is  luxury,  so  the  gate  of  Zion  is  chastity ;  a 
gate  of  death  again  is  injustice,  but  the  gate  of  Zion, 
justice ;  which  the  prophet  shewing  saith  :  This  is 
the  gate  of  the  Lord,  the  just  shall  go  in  thereat : 
again,  the  gate  of  death  is  fear,  the  gate  of  Zion, 
fortitude  ;  folly  is  the  gate  of  death,  but  wisdom  is 
the  gate  of  Zion  "  (Comm.  in  St.  Matt).  The  true 
gate  into  the  city  is  of  one  pearl,  and  that  pearl  is  of 
great  price,  for  it  is  the  pearl  of  the  whole  heart, 
which  is  also  Christ.  For  so  the  apostle  speaks  : 
"lam  crucified  with  Christ,  nevertheless  I  live  ;  yet 
382 


THE  TESTS  OF  LIFE 

not  1,  but  Christ  liveth  in  me."  And  this  thing  is 
only  fulfilled  when  we  cease  from  self.  For  self- 
sacrifice  is  evermore  the  gateway  into  the  kingdom 
of  love,  which  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven  ;  since,  how 
can  a  man  love  who  cannot  sacrifice  self?  This,  then, 
is  the  strait  gate  ;  and  this  also  is  Christ.  And 
what  He  has  made  thus  narrow,  we  cannot  make 
wide.  And  yet  the  gateway  is  large  enough  for  all. 
It  is  wide  enough  for  all  kinds  of  intellects,  talents, 
and  views.     It  asks  only  the  heart,  the  love. 

It  was  thus  that  Christ  taught  His  disciples.  The 
rich  young  man  tried  to  enter  in  at  the  gate,  but  he 
could  not,  for  he  brought  his  sacks  of  gold  with  him, 
and  he  sought  to  bring  them  in  ;  and  when  he  found 
that  he  must  either  abandon  them  or  the  gate  of 
heaven,  he  took  away  his  wealth  with  him.  He  went 
away  sorrowful,  for  he  had  great  possessions.  And 
the  disciples  were  amazed  and  said,  M  Who  then  can 
be  saved?"  (St.  Matt.  xix.  16-30,  and  xx.i- 1 
then  Christ,  who  would  not  have  any  one  think  that 
the  way  into  heaven  was  barred  against  any,  said 
that  heaven  was  open  to  all ;  for  He  drew  the  picture 
of  the  vine  harvest,  where  the  fruit  was  so  abundant 
that  there  was  employment  for  everybody  at  every 
hour  of  the  day.  By  which  He  meant  us  to  under- 
stand that  we  live  in  a  world  in  which  there  it 
plenty  of  good  to  be  done,  and  that  whosoever  knows 
283 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

and  perceives  this,  and  obeys  the  voice  that  bids 
them  go  and  work,  will  enter,  not  into  the  kingdom 
of  earth,  but  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  So  easy 
and  so  near  to  simple  hearts  is  the  heaven  which 
others  thought  far  off  and  hard  to  reach  and  narrow- 
gated  to  enter  into. 

And  this  is  the  thing  which  the  false  prophets 
confuse ;  for  they  ask  men  to  recite  their  belief, 
where  Christ  asks  men  to  give  their  heart.  And 
this  is  putting  the  thing  the  wrong  way ;  for  a  man 
may  find  his  creed  through  his  heart,  but  never  his 
heart  through  his  creed;  seeing  that  a  man  may 
recite  the  true  creed  and  yet  not  know  Christ  or 
heaven ;  but  we  cannot  know  Christ  or  heaven 
without  soon  coming  to  the  best  of  creeds.  In 
Bunyan's  great  allegory,  Christian  came  to  the 
wicket-gate  before  he  came  to  the  cross.  He  was 
ready  to  enter  the  narrow  gate,  to  resign  self,  and 
to  give  up  all  for  heaven  and  Christ's  sake  before 
he  understood  all  about  forgiveness,  and  the  beauty, 
and  joy,  and  boundless  love,  and  deep  meaning  of 
the  cross  of  Christ. 

False  prophets  there  are  and  ever  have  been. 
But  they  are  specious  and  plausible.  They  wear 
sheep's  clothing ;  they  look  as  though  they  belonged 
to  the  fold ;  they  can  repeat  much  of  the  language 
of  Christ's  religion ;  they  can  say  Lord,  Lord ;  they 
284 


THE  TESTS  OF  LIFE 

know  their  creed  well ;  they  have  a  fine  eye  for 
orthodoxy,  and  they  can  sniff  out  a  heresy  before 
others.  They  stand  well  with  the  world,  for  they 
can  pardon  much  that  is  unchristlike,  if  the  right 
phrases  be  used ;  they  can  allow  envy  and  slander, 
if  only  the  party  language  be  employed ;  they  do 
not  object  to  worldliness  of  behaviour  and  character, 
if  only  the  external  conformities  be  observed.  They 
wear  the  sheep's  clothing ;  but  how  terribly  do  they 
ravage  the  flock  !  For  they  teach  unchristian  hatred, 
and  heated  bigotry,  and  rancorous  speech,  and  un- 
charitable judgments.  These  are  some  of  the  false 
prophets.  And  there  are  other  false  prophets  who 
use  specious  words  of  a  large  charity  towards  loose 
principles,  and  teach  that  Christ  asks  no  self-denial. 
These  break  down  the  gate  of  self-sacrifice,  and 
build  instead  another  gate,  of  great  bigness  and 
width,  and  call  it  Large-mindedness,  but  its  true 
name  is  Self-indulgence,  and  it  leads  not  to  the  New 
Jerusalem,  but  to  the  City  of  Destruction. 

In  all  the  impressions  caused  by  the  clamour  of 
these  false  prophets,  it  is  better  to  come  to  our 
Lord's  own  test:  By  their  fruits  yc  shall  know 
them.  And  the  apostle  proclaimed  the  same  test, 
but  in  another  fashion,  when  he  said,  "If  any  man 
have  not  the  spirit  of  Christ,  he  is  none  of  Hit" 
(Rom.  viii.  9).  Wherever  wc  meet  with  the  CI 
285 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

like  character  and  the  Christ-like  life,  there  we  may 
be  sure  that  the  Christ  Himself  has  been  at  work. 
The  life  which  manifests  Him  must  be  His  life. 
For  men  do  not  gather  grapes  of  thorns  or  figs  of 
thistles  (Matt.  vii.  16).  The  good  fruit  means  a 
good  tree,  call  it  by  what  name  you  will.  The  evil 
fruit  means  a  corrupt  tree,  disguise  it  as  you  will 
(verse  17). 

At  this  point  Christ  throws  out  a  thought  full  of 
consolation.  The  dark  and  heart-oppressing  clouds 
of  evil  will  vanish.  However  strong  sin  and  corrup- 
tion, wrong  practices,  and  unrighteous  ways  may 
seem,  they  are  but  transitory ;  they  have  no  lasting 
vitality ;  they  are  doomed  to  pass  away. 

"  Evil  in  its  nature  is  decay, 
And  any  hour  can  blot  it  all  away." 

All  the  idle  and  profitless  things  also  will  go.  This 
is  our  Lord's  language  :  u  Every  tree  that  bringeth 
not  forth  good  fruit  is  hewn  down  and  cast  into  the 
fire  "  (verse  19). 

But  though  these  words  are  consolatory,  as  assur- 
ing us  of  the  inherent  weakness  of  all  that  is  evil, 
they  convey  a  clear  and  heart-stimulating  warning, 
since  they  remind  us  that  an  ever-working  God  will 
not  tolerate  useless  things.  The  profitless  and  fruit- 
less tree  has  a  fitting  close  to  its  career;  " whose 
end  is  to  be  burned."  There  are  some  trees  which 
286 


THE  TESTS  OF  LIFE 

arc  fit  only  for  firewood.  There  are  some  lives 
which  are  so  insignificant  and  so  useless  that  they 
can  supply  no  place  in  the  great  household  of  God. 
Ah !  God  save  us  from  the  life  whose  threescore 
years  and  ten  show  nothing  for  them — no  moral 
good  attained,  no  noble  influence  diffused,  no  kindly 
work  achieved ;  which  has  left  hungry  souls  unfed, 
and  naked  ones  unclad,  and  has  shown  forth  no 
gracious  and  brotherly  ministry  among  men.  For 
such  is  reserved  the  left  hand  of  God,  and  the  out- 
door shed  where  the  firewood  is  stored. 

For  all  life,  the  simple  law  remains — service  is 
the  test  of  life's  value.  "By  their  fruits  ye  shall 
know  them  "  (verse  20). 

And  yet  what  self-deceptions  are  practised  by 
men.  They  mistake  the  phrase  for  the  truth,  the 
outward  conformity  for  the  inward  reality.  It  is  of 
little  value  that  we  "profess  and  call  ourselves 
Christians,"  unless  we  are  indeed  u  led  into  the  way 
of  truth  ; "  it  is  of  little  use  to  know  the  creed  unless 
we  live  it,  or  to  recite  our  prayers  unless  wc  trans- 
late them  into  action ;  it  is  of  small  moment  to  hold 
the  faith,  unless  wc  hold  it  in  unity  of  spirit  and  in 
the  bond  of  peace.  "Not  every  one  that  safejfa  unto 
mc,  Lord,  Lord,  shall  enter  into  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  ;  but  he  that  docth  the  will  of  my  Father 
which  is  in  heaven  "  (verse  2l). 
287 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

So  simple  is  all  this  teaching  that  we  might 
wonder  how  self-deception  is  possible ;  but  our 
Lord  shows  how  the  deceitfulness  may  work.  He 
tells  us  that  it  works  in  the  difference  which  there 
is  between  effective  Christian  work  and  reality  of 
Christian  conviction  (verse  23).  Men  may  pro- 
phesy and  do  wonders  in  Christ's  name,  and  yet 
not  be  recognised  by  Christ  as  His  true  disciples. 
The  late  Professor  Mozley  pointed  out  that  there 
were  some  people  who  had  a  talent  for  piety  as 
distinguished  from  piety  of  character.  The  truth 
is,  that  there  is  nothing  to  which  energetic  people 
give  their  minds  in  which  they  cannot  succeed.  A 
person  of  vigorous  intellect  and  strong  will  may 
devote  his  powers  to  religious  work  with  as  much 
readiness  as  he  might  have  done  to  scientific  or 
political  work ;  but  his  doing  so  would  not  make 
him  a  religious  man.  It  is  true  that  he  is  an  ener- 
getic, forceful,  and  successful  worker  in  religious 
affairs  ;  but  the  spirit  within  him  may  be  untouched 
by  the  love  of  God  or  the  love  of  man.  Religion 
is  the  sphere  of  his  work,  but  not  the  delight  of 
his  heart.  It  is  his  occupation,  but  not  his  ex- 
ceeding joy :  it  may  be  his  livelihood,  without  being 
his  life.  It  may  even  be  a  joy  and  delight  to  him, 
because  it  is  the  sphere  in  which  his  talents  find 
their  scope  and  win  reputation  and  applause.  It 
288 


THE  TESTS  OF  LIFE 

is  the  sphere  in  which  he  sees  the  spread  of  his 
influence  and  the  ascendency  of  his  power.  All 
his  interest  and  enthusiasm  may  be  in  it,  but  he 
may  be  far  from  being  a  religious  and  Christ-loving 
man.  "  The  truth  is,  wherever  there  is  action,  effort, 
aim  at  certain  objects  and  ends  ;  wherever  the  flame 
of  human  energy  mounts  up ;  all  this  may  gather 
either  round  a  centre  of  pure  and  unselfish  desire, 
or  round  a  centre  of  egotism  ;  and  no  superiority  in 
the  subject  of  the  work  can  prevent  the  lapse  into 
the  inferior  motive."  Thus  it  happens  that,  in  a 
pure  and  good  sense  moral  force  is  lacking  in  a  man 
who  pursues  even  religious  work  in  a  self-pleasing 
or  self-glorifying  spirit.  Such  a  man  does  not 
bring  his  own  moral  being  under  the  influence  of 
religion.  A  great  gulf  is  fixed  between  his  intellec- 
tual and  his  moral  nature.  His  ethical  taste  may 
approve,  and  his  understanding  may  appreciate  the 
truths  of  religion,  but  they  have  not  become  the 
food  of  his,  soul.  And  yet  even  while  this  chasm 
exists  between  the  two  parts  of  his  nature,  he  may 
be  eminently  successful.  He  may  be  approved 
in  the  Church  and  applauded  in  the  congregation 
He  may  achieve  great  and  useful  results,  but  the 
inward  life  is  not  the  life  of  God ;  Christ  docs  not 
dwell  in  him,  nor  he  in  Christ.  It  is  still  self, 
and  not  Christ  which  lives  in  him.  His  work.  Us 
189 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

Christian  activity,  the  welcoming  enthusiasm  of  the 
pious  souls  who  recognise  his  ability,  all  contribute 
to  his  self-deception.  He  does  not  pierce  beneath 
the  surface  of  his  life  ;  he  does  not  investigate  the 
spirit  which  animates  his  actions.  He  believes  in 
his  own  goodness ;  he  has  the  evidence  of  his 
success ;  he  takes  his  piety  for  granted.  But  the 
reality  is  not  there  after  all.  There  is  an  awakening 
for  such  a  man.  Of  this  Christ  gives  warning  in 
the  words  which  follow :  "  Many  shall  say  unto 
me,  Lord,  Lord,  have  we  not  prophesied  in  Thy 
name,  and  in  Thy  name  done  many  wonderful 
works  ?  "  All  this  may  be  true.  The  gifts  of  life 
may  have  been  used  in  the  cause  of  religion,  while 
the  heart  of  life  has  not  been  consecrated  to  it. 
The  answer  of  the  Lord  of  Life  must  be,  "  I  never 
knew  you  "  (verse  23). 

We  need  not  go  far  to  find  examples  of  men 
highly  endowed  and  greatly  influential  in  religious 
spheres  but  lacking  the  true  spirit  of  piety.  Such 
men  are  types  of  gifted,  but  ungraced,  religionism. 
Balaam  seems  to  have  been  a  man  of  this  pattern. 
He  has  the  indubitable  prophetic  gift,  but  with 
an  unconsecrated  heart.  He  can  perceive  the 
vision  of  Israel's  glories  in  the  latter  days.  He 
can  realise  the  splendour  of  their  destiny  and  the 
invincibility  of  their  moral  position.  He  recognizes 
290 


THE  TESTS  OF  LIFE 

the  measureless  superiority  of  their  ideal  life  above 
that  of  surrounding  nations.  He  can  sec  clearly 
enough  that  there  is  no  divination  nor  enchantment 
against  Jacob.  But  the  personal  revelation  of  God 
to  his  soul  is  a  separate  matter.  God  is  far  above, 
though  not  out  of  his  sight  Yet  if  he  sees  Him, 
it  is  not  nigh.  Thus  gifts  used  for  good  ends  arc  not 
the  same  as  an  inspired  heart.  Grace  is  needed  to 
consecrate  the  gift.  It  is  missed  for  want  of  thought 
and  prayer ;  for  no  gift  need  be  left  thus  unblessed. 
"  Unto  every  one  of  us,"  says  St.  Paul,  "is  given 
grace  according  to  the  measure  of  the  gift  of  Christ n 
(Eph.  iv.  7).  But  men  of  the  class  we  speak  of 
are  betrayed  by  their  own  gifts.  They  use  them 
freely  and  generously  in  a  good  cause.  They  are 
apparently  above  all  selfishness.  The  subtle  temp- 
tation of  men  so  gifted  is  love  of  power.  They  may 
be  oblivious  of  their  material  interests;  they  may 
not  be  money-loving,  nor  even  applause-loving  men, 
but  they  may  delight  in  power.  They  like  to  wield 
wide-spread  influence;  to  gather  men  under  t 
leadership ;  to  be  the  head  of  a  party.  They 
achieve  much  ;  they  do  many  wonderful  works;  but 
the  lust  of  power  is  in  all  that  they  do.  They  lack 
simplicity  ;  the  eye  is  not  single  ;  the  light  within 
tlu -in  is  darkened  by  the  overmastering  desire  of 
dominion.  The  work  done  is  done  in  CI 
291 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

it  is  done  for  the  sake  of  His  Church.  But  for  all 
that  they  are  not  clean-handed  workers  ;  they  walk 
on  in  darkness  ;  they  are  workers  of  iniquity,  because 
they  have  prostituted  sacred  things  to  personal  ends. 
They  have  exerted  a  dangerous  influence,  drawing 
men  to  self  rather  than  leading  them  to  Christ.  The 
wall  is  daubed  with  untempered  mortar.  There  is  a 
weakness  in  it  which  will  be  apparent  before  long. 

It  will  be  seen  that  our  Lord  takes  infinite  and 
reiterated  labour  to  impress  upon  His  followers  the 
profound  importance  of  personal  reality,  single- 
mindedness  in  religion.  He  covets  for  them  the 
child-like  spirit,  which  acts  faithfully  and  works 
untiringly,  without  thought  of  reward  or  applause, 
because  it  loves  truly  and  deeply.  He  therefore 
cautions  against  the  soul-weakening  and  rival  spirits 
which  may  animate  men  and  which  ruin  personal 
religion,  like  a  moth  which  brings  rottenness  into 
a  garment. 

We  perceive  the  reason  for  this  urgency  as  we 
draw  near  to  the  close  of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount. 
He  tells  us  that  sooner  or  later  the  testing  time 
must  come.  We  live  in  a  world  which  is  our 
Father's  world  :  it  is  bright  with  His  love,  as  earth 
is  bright  with  sunshine  and  with  rain.  But  we  live 
in  a  world  which  sooner  or  later  brings  life  and 
character  to  the  test.  Men  may  be  content  with 
292 


THE  TESTS  OF  LIFE 

ill-made  implements,  or  dwell  in  ill-built  houses; 
but  when  the  implement  snaps  with  the  first  at- 
tempt to  use  it,  or  when  the  house  comes  down 
before  the  strain  of  weather,  the  bad  workmanship 
is  made  known. 

Our  Lord  enforces  this,  which  is  the  climax 
thought  of  His  sermon,  by  the  parable  of  the  two 
builders : 

"Therefore,  whosoever  heareth  these  sayings  of 
mine,  and  doeth  them,  I  will  liken  him  unto  a  wise 
man  which  built  his  house  upon  a  rock  : 

"  And  the  rain  descended,  and  the  floods  came, 
and  the  winds  blew  and  beat  upon  that  house,  and 
it  fell  not ;  for  it  was  founded  on  a  rock. 

"And  every  one  that  heareth  these  sayings  of 
mine,  and  doeth  them  not,  shall  be  likened  unto  a 
foolish  man,  which  built  his  house  upon  the  sand : 

"And  the  rain  descended,  and  the  floods  came, 
and  the  winds  blew,  and  beat  upon  that  house ;  and 
it  fell:   and   great  was  the   fall  thereof"  (ch. 
24-27.) 

The  contrast  is  between  failure  and  success ;  but 
the  moment  which  determines  the  question  of  failure 
or  success  is  the  moment  of  emergency.  To  all 
seeming,  while  the  fair  weather  lasted  the 
built  by  the  wise  man  and  the  foolish  man 
equally  stable  and  secure.     It  was  the  storm  which 

*9J 


THE  GkEAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRtSf 

brought  the  test.  We  must  remember  the  weather 
conditions  of  the  Holy  Land.  The  prolonged  rain- 
less weather  is  suddenly  broken  up  by  the  season 
of  rain  and  storm.  The  soil  is  loosened  by  mois- 
ture ;  the  dry  beds  of  streams  run  rapid  with  flood  ; 
the  winds  rush  down  upon  every  unprotected  spot. 
Beneath,  the  earth  is  treacherous ;  around,  the  flood 
is  strong ;  above,  the  winds  are  vehement.  Every 
part  of  the  house  is  put  to  the  test.  Everything  is 
proved  in  that  hour.  This  is  the  time  of  probation. 
How  has  the  man  built  ?  Now  will  his  wisdom  be 
justified  or  his  folly  exposed.  Now  will  it  be  known 
whether  his  work  can  be  called  success  or  failure. 
All  the  weeks  past  of  apparent  security  were  untried 
weeks.  The  flimsiest  built  hut  could  have  con- 
tinued standing.  Now  is  the  supreme  moment 
which  proves  the  man  and  his  work. 

It  is  in  such  times  that  we  appreciate  the  dis- 
tinction between  wisdom  and  folly.  In  times  of 
security  wisdom  looks  like  folly.  The  precautions 
of  Noah  are  derided.  But  wisdom  supposes  the 
worst  and  provides  for  it  lest  one  hour  of  emergency 
prove  its  work  to  be  worthless.  If  there  had  been 
no  storm  of  unusual  violence  the  Tay  Bridge  might 
have  survived ;  but  the  unexpected  pressure  of 
wind  revealed  the  weakness  of  the  work  and  proved 
its  worthlessness  for  its  purpose.  Wisdom  builds 
294 


THE  TESTS  OF  LIFE 

for  rough  times ;  folly  for  fair  weather  only.  Folly 
relies  upon  chance,  and  when  failure  comes  blames 
circumstances.  Wisdom  leaves  nothing  to  chance, 
builds  for  the  worst,  criticises  its  own  work,  looks 
well  to  the  foundation,  and  so  reaches  a  security 
which  is  above  chance  and  change. 

One  characteristic  of  this  wisdom  is  patience.  It 
is  not  eager  to  build  rapidly ;  it  is  only  anxious  to 
build  well.  It  does  not  shirk  difficulty.  In  diffi- 
culty it  learns  patience,  which  is  one  part  of  the 
builder's  skill.  It  knows  that  "raw  haste  is  half 
sister  to  delay."  Patience  so  practised  works  proba- 
tion (Romans  v.  4).  The  work  of  patience  stands 
in  the  hour  of  trial.  So  probation  leads  to 
hope. 

Thus  the  spirit  of  wisdom  is  seen  In  the  desire 
to  make  its  work  real.  It  is  not  content  with 
surface  work.  It  will  go  down  to  the  roots  and 
foundations  of  things.  It  will  not  be  content  with 
knowing  how  to  do  a  thing.  It  will  do  it.  The 
foolish  man  is  content  to  hear,  but  he  lias  no  desire 
to  do  what  he  hears.  He  acquiesces,  he  even 
approves ;  he  can  discuss,  but  he  cannot  achieve. 
He  is  good  on  paper,  as  we  say :  he  is  an 
general,  but  an  ill  commander  on  the  field.  He 
no  idea  beyond  theory.  The  wise  man  has 
theory  in  practice ;  he  has  translated  prccepi  Into 
295 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

action.  And  thence  in  all  matters  comes  stability. 
It  is  thus  that  strong  characters  are  built.  The 
weaker  and  less  tenacious  are  content  with  hear- 
ing ;  the  more  earnest  desire  to  do.  Thus,  through 
activity  their  powers  gain  strength — their  powers  of 
work  and  their  powers  of  perception  :  their  powers 
of  work,  since  powers  used  gain  force ;  their  powers 
of  perception,  since  some  knowledge  is  only  fully 
gained  in  practice. 

"  What  to  thought  a  veil  may  prove 
That  an  action  may  remove ; 
Thus  by  doing  you  shall  know 
What  it  is  you  have  to  do." 

And  this  principle  is  one  which  our  Lord  affirmed. 
"  If  any  man  willeth  to  do  His  will,  he  shall  know 
of  the  teaching,  whether  it  be  of  God  "  (John  vii.  17). 
It  is  the  willingness  to  do  which  enables  men  to 
perceive  the  divine  origin  of  truth.  St.  John  ex- 
presses the  same  when  he  says  that  obedience  is  a 
sort  of  verification  of  God's  presence.  "  Hereby  know 
we  that  we  know  Him,  if  we  keep  His  command- 
ments n  (1  John  ii.  3). 

There  is  a  stability  of  understanding  which  arises 
from  stability  of  character,  for  which  reason  a 
vigorous  mind  and  a  vigorous  character  often  go 
hand  in  hand.  Remembering  these  things  we  shall 
realise  the  wisdom  in  these  words  of  Christ: 
296 


THE  TESTS  OF  LIFE 

"  Every  one  that  heareth  these  words  of  mine,  and 
doeth  them,  shall  be  likened  unto  a  wise  man,  which 
built  his  house  upon  a  rock." 

The  end  which  is  desired  by  our  Lord  is  that  true, 
firm,  loyal,  loving  character  which  can  stand  in  the 
evil  day.  Life  tests  all  things,  and  tests  character 
perhaps  most  of  all.  Conduct  may  be  three  parts  of 
life,  but  character  is  five  parts  of  conduct,  and  holds 
sway  over  other  realms  of  life.  It  is  character  which 
determines  the  quality  of  our  joys ;  and  it  is  in 
sense  true  that  heaven  is  character.  The  reason 
that  we  must  do  as  well  as  hear  the  sayings  of  Christ 
is  not  in  any  merit  in  the  doing,  but  rather  in  the 
simple  fact  that  to  hear  without  doing  is  to  reveal 
deep  defect  of  character.  The  lack  of  action  betrays 
the  weakness  and  insincerity  of  the  character,  as 
action  itself  consolidates  the  character  and  deepens 
its  earnestness.  The  reason  we  deplore  those  sad 
moral  catastrophes  which  sometimes  occur  in  the 
life  of  a  man  seemingly  good  and  upright  is  because 
they  reveal  the  rottenness  of  character  which  lay 
behind  specious  and  pleasing  behaviour.  Life  has 
tested  him,  and  he  has  gone  to  pieces  under  the 
test. 

When,  then,  we  ask,  What  docs  our  Lord 
by  the  falling  of  the  one  house  and  the  (inn  i 
of  the  other?  wc  feci  that  the  answer  must  be  the 
§J9 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

manifestation  of  character  which  takes  place  through 
the  action  of  testing  circumstances.  It  is  not,  like 
St.  Paul's  comparison  of  the  fire  and  the  building,  a 
test  applied  to  a  man's  work  :  the  test  is  applied  to 
the  man  himself.  The  man  is  likened  to  the  building  ; 
and  the  building  has  been  well  built  or  ill  built, 
according  to  the  wisdom  or  folly  of  the  man  in  action. 
The  fall  of  the  building  is  the  fall  of  the  man,  when 
his  character  is  disclosed  to  be  not  what  it  seemed. 
Moreover,  as  all  joy  is  dependent  on  character,  that 
being  no  joy  to  one  character  which  occasions  exqui- 
site joy  to  another,  it  follows  that  it  is  only  in  the 
character  which  can  endure  and  surmount  circum- 
stances that  the  highest  and  truest  joys  are  to  be 
found.  Here  that  word  of  the  apostle  (Rom.  viii. 
28),  "  All  things  work  together  for  good  to  them  that 
love  God,"  may  fitly  be  quoted.  Circumstances  do 
not  always  improve  character ;  but,  if  the  character 
be  a  fit  one,  circumstances  strengthen  it.  Cornelius 
Agrippa,  called  the  Magician,  perceived  this.  In 
treating  of  the  origin  of  evil,  he  said  that  evil 
material  receiving  holy  influences  turns  them  to  its 
hurt.  The  stars  work  diversely  on  diverse  souls. 
The  rays  of  Saturn,  which  might  dispose  one  man 
to  obstinacy  and  blasphemy,  might  make  a  sound 
head  steadier.  Character  counts  in  the  result.  So 
says  St.  Paul,  and  he  only  echoes  Christ's  teaching. 
298 


THE  TESTS  OF  LIFE 

In  the  end  every  character  will  be  disclosed  :  the 
secret  rottenness  which  the  world  never  dreamed 
of;  the  worldliness  which  was  concealed  under  the 
show  of  philanthropy;  the  ambition  which  hid 
behind  the  veil  of  piety;  the  secret  things  will  be 
made  manifest.  Some  storms  may  have  been 
weathered ;  but  the  testing  storms  will  come  sooner 
or  later,  and  then  the  life  which  has  not  been  practi- 
cally good,  and  the  character  which  has  been  content 
with  keeping  up  appearances  will  be  exposed.  I  Ic 
alone  will  stand  in  that  day  who  has  turned  his 
moral  and  religious  belief  into  practice,  who  has 
sought  to  be  that  which  he  has  desired  or  seemed  to 
be. 

Happiness  is  in  character  ;  character  is  affirmed 
in  conduct.  The  circle  of  our  Lords  teaching  carries 
us  back  to  the  starting  place.  He  opened  (Mat: 
3-1 1)  by  affirming  that  happiness  was  to  be  found 
rather  in  the  inward  disposition  than  in  possession 
or  acquisition.  He  closes  by  saying  that  men  nay 
build  up  the  character  which  can  endure  and  (here- 
fore  can  enjoy  life.  And  in  this  He  brings  His 
teaching  into  harmony  with  the  circle  of  His 
beatitudes.  In  the  last  beatitude  He  affirmed  the 
necessity  of  a  disposition  which  could  endure: 
11  Blessed  are  they  that  are  persecuted  for  righteous* 
ncss'  sake  ;"  consistently,  at  the  close  of  IIU  *crmon 
*99 


THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  CHRIST 

He  speaks  of  the  victory  of  the  character  which  can 
endure.  Happiness  consists  in  being  like  our  Father 
in  heaven ;  and  the  likeness  is  not  complete  unless 
there  be  an  enduring  quality  in  it,  for  that  which 
fades  and  abides  not  does  not  belong  to  the  eternal 
kingdom.  But  that  which  is  of  God  abides  for  ever ; 
and  therefore  righteousness  and  love,  when  wrought 
into  character,  give  it  a  lasting  power  against  the 
assaults  of  temptation  and  trial.  The  crown  of  life 
belongs  to  such  ;  for  so  wrote  St.  James  :  "  Blessed 
is  the  man  that  endureth  temptation,  for  when  he 
hath  been  approved,  he  shall  receive  the  crown  of 
life  which  the  Lord  hath  promised  to  them  that  love 
Him"  (James  i.  12). 


